Voyage for the One Piece
by nimKypto
Summary: Taeyong is a master firebender but has plans to master more than just fire. For years she's lived as a bounty hunter and practiced her bending on unsuspecting, 'interesting' pirates. But now she is the first mate to a new crew, the Strawhats. Will they be the end of her sanity, or will she find the family she never meant to search for?
1. Romance Dawn

**Chapter 1**

"I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too. We should probably bring more food with us next time."

"Say, Zoro."

"Hm?"

"How far until we reach land?"

Zoro sat up quick, alarmed. "You mean you don't know where we're going?!"

"Nope."

"How are we supposed to get there if neither of us knows where we're going?"

"We'll get there."

"But how?"

"Somehow," Luffy said with a smile. Flopping down onto the small boat's floor, he sighed and turned his attention from a now speechless Zoro to the empty sky above. "I wonder if we can eat clouds."

Zoro sat back again, accepting that they just might starve on the boat. "Don't know." Looking out at the horizon, Zoro noticed something too small and fast to be a cloud. Luffy seemed to notice it too because a moment later he suddenly blurted out, "What's that?"

Zoro squinted as the object got closer and realized what it must be, but how they were accomplishing it he didn't know. Flying through the sky was a person. A real person. They almost looked as if they had been thrown out across the sea head first, though whoever had thrown them this far would need to be strong. Zoro turned towards his captain, wondering if he had realized what the figure was as well, but Luffy was already climbing the mast and shouting, one hand waving the newcomer down.

"Oi! Person!"

The newcomer noticed them too, with the shouting and waving it was kind of hard not to, and a minute later a bronze haired girl had landed on the bow, her feet quietly tapping the wood as serious eyes watched Luffy jump down from the mast. There was a moment of silence before the girl and Luffy spoke at the same time. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Can you fly?"

Sighing, the girl decided to answer the strange boy's question before pressing her own, wondering if his question _was_ the answer to hers. Her voice matter-of-fact and even, she stated, "Yes. I use firebending to propel myself through the air, much like a rocket would." The ruby cloak she was wearing shifted slightly as she lifted her hand and grew a small fire over her palm. She noticed the boy in the back of the boat rest his hand on his sword as he watched her movements carefully, but she kept her eyes leveled with the boy's in front of her as she continued explaining. "The force of a strong fire will push me forward and by changing the direction of the flame, I can change the direction of where I go. The speed I go can also vary depending on -"

"That's so cool?! Oi, Zoro! Did you see this? This lady can create fire and fly!"

While the boy in front was exclaiming and looking at the fire in her palm from different angles, the one in back walked forward, breaking through her shock at the interruption. "So it's like a devil fruit or something? Like a fire-fire fruit?"

"It's actually a natural ability I have - it's fairly common where I come from, though flying with it is unorthodox even if it's not unheard of." At this the boy with the straw hat stood up full again to meet the girl's eyes. His voice filled with barely contained enthusiasm, he spoke again. "You have to join my pirate crew."

Dissipating her fire, the girl stopped and looked the boy over. His grin was wide, almost wild even, and his actions showed how hopeful and confident he was. And yet despite his somewhat silly demeanor his eyes were serious when he had stated his request. She concluded he was a strange leader, but a leader all the same, and a strong one to boot. Still she didn't know enough about him to make a choice, as if she wanted to make one anyway, so she settled for stating the obvious hoping to distract him long enough to fly off in peace.

"I don't know you."

"I don't know you, but I know you're a good person. I can tell." Before the girl could form a reply the boy's stomach growled and he grumbled with it. "Ah, I'm hungry."

This was the perfect chance. If she could distract him with food long enough, she could fly off while he ate. Without thinking twice, she pulled a small sack from her waist and held it out to him with a simple "here." It held 2 days worth of food, but since she was going to reach land tonight, the loss wouldn't be so terrible. She would just need to find more food once she was there. After handing the bag over, the girl readied herself to take off when the bag - now empty - appeared in front of her face.

"Thank you for the meal."

The plan had failed.

"So, are you gonna join?"

The plan had really and truly failed. "No."

"You should join."

"I don't know you."

"But you're a good person. And since I'm going to be King of the Pirates, I'm going to need a strong crew to go with me. You can fly, so you're strong, right?"

"But I don't know if _you_ are a good person."

"Find out for yourself."

"I'm a bounty hunter."

"So was Zoro."

"And I can't take orders from people I can't respect."

"I understand."

"And I have high expectations of those I do respect."

"Okay."

"Including my captain."

"If I become a captain you can't respect, you can leave."

…

"So join."

She looked up from the bag to the boy's face in front of her. His eyes were serious again. Slowly her hand seemed to move on it's own, reaching up to grab the bag.

"Deal."

"Right. You don't have anymore food, do you?" At this the other boy whacked him over the head and sent him flying to the back end of the boat, shouting about how he had eaten the whole bag and no longer had the right to ask for more. Watching the scene before her unfold, the newcomer had a sudden thought.

"Captain, I don't know your name."

"Ah, I'm Monkey D. Luffy."

"Taeyong. Moe Taeyong."

"Nice to meet ya."


	2. Buggy's Circus, Part 1

**Chapter 2**

Sitting up on the yard where crow's nest should have been, Taeyong leaned against the top of the mast and gazed across the surrounding waters. It turns out the small boat the three of them were on was actually their current pirate ship, and Taeyong was the third crew member recruited out of three - second if you didn't count the captain. It was reassuring to know, however, that her immediate feeling of regret happened to Zoro as well, who she learned was also unaware of their captain's situation when he had signed up just a few days ago. Thinking back, it was also strange to learn that Zoro wasn't the first mate.

It would have made sense as he was the first person besides the captain to join, but when Taeyong had asked about her position as a crewmember her captain had merely said first mate as if it were as natural as the sky. Afraid for a moment that she had taken the other boy's position from him and that he would be angry about it, she had pointed out that he should probably be the vice-captain since he had been recruited before her. It had been a shock when both boys stopped to stare at her.

"But Zoro's the swordsman."

The other boy, Zoro, smirked and leaned forward, preparing to draw one of his swords as he spoke. "Unless you want to trade responsibilities. You'd have to fight me for it, though."

"Can you use swords?" her captain had asked, looking as though he had just found a new piece of treasure.

Keeping her eyes on Zoro, she answered, "I can to some extent, but I'm no swordsman. My strength lies with firebending."

Zoro clicked his sword back into place again, sighing almost as if he was disappointed there wouldn't be a sparring match. And with his withdraw, the matter was settled.

Thinking over the swordsman's actions, Taeyong found herself looking down at her new crewmates now sleeping on the boat's floor. The captain was dead to the world as he laid sprawled across the boards, but the other sat as he slept, almost as if he kept a vigil. A small part of her noted the swordsman below was rather cute in a tough, teddy bear kind of way. If his personality and mindset matched or were better than his looks, he could easily become troublesome. She sighed as he hugged his swords closer in his sleep. Yes Zoro was most likely going to be very troublesome.

"Who's troublesome, exactly?"

Stiffening where she sat, Taeyong realized she must have said the last part out loud. Still, she could hardly go back now. She turned her head away quickly, focusing on a wave in the distance as she answered, "Probably you."

The swordsman shuffled a bit as he leaned back and huffed slightly. "There's no 'probably' about it. Either I am or I'm not, so which is it?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Quit being so wishy-washy about it and make a decision already. It's not complicated."

"Well it's not simple, either."

"Tch."

Looking down, Taeyong found Zoro staring out at the sea, his face collected despite the tone in his voice. "You're not offended? Most would be in your position."

"Nah. People can call me what they like. It's not like what they call me changes who I am."

"I suppose you have a point there."

Zoro looked up at the firebender. "I can take over the watch from here; the sun'll be up in a few hours anyway."

With a grateful smile to the swordsman, Taeyong leaned her head back against the mast, and with a soft, "I'll leave it to you, then," she fell asleep.

A faint voice saying gum gum woke her sometime later, and Taeyong opened her eyes to see what she believed to be her captain's hand grabbing the yard in front of her before the voice that woke her yelled, "Rocket!" and a force knocked her off the yard and onto the boat floor below. Landing with a loud thud, she sat up confused but fully awake.

"What in the world was that?" She asked. It was Zoro that answered.

"The captain just shot himself off the boat to hunt a bird. He's planning to bring it back so we can eat it."

"Oh. I am getting a little hungry. He shouldn't take too long, right?" Taeyong looked up in the direction she assumed her captain had flown off in before her eyes hardened and her mouth frowned. Ignoring whatever reply Zoro was making, she walked straight to the back of the boat, hooking her leg over the stern and securing herself on the rail.

Answering Zoro's confused sputtering, Taeyong said, "Look up. I don't think our captain will be returning anytime soon." There was a pause as Zoro followed her advice.

"What is he doing?!"

"Let me know if the bird changes direction. I won't be able to see where to steer from back here."

Zoro looked back in curiosity. "Are you planning to make the boat fly?"

"No, I can't do that. But I can speed us up a bit if the boat is as small as this one."

Taeyong focused on keeping her hands even with each other as she breathed deep before firebending twin flames. If her hands weren't even, even by the slightest bit, the boat would go off course. It took a moment before the fire's force took effect but then the boat pushed off after the bird, skimming straight over the waves.

"Keep going straight. We're catching up."

"Alright."

"Hey, Mister! Let us on!"

"What was that?"

"Some people swimming in the water." Zoro shouted out to them, "We can't stop - you'll have to climb on yourself!"

There was a sudden bump in the waves before three people began clinging to the sides and back of the ship. As they were climbing in, the one closest to Taeyong grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop bending before the ship capsized. Unfortunately this meant that the boat stopped as well, and suddenly enough to throw her face-first into the water. Resurfacing and emptying her mouth of seawater, Taeyong swam back to the boat before beginning to climb up the back again. Just as she had popped her head over the side, she heard the three men ending a threat to take over their ship, their backs turned to her. Swinging herself fully over the side, she felt her voice turn flat and low as she glared daggers into the imbeciles who had forced her into the water. "Excuse me?"

Zoro seemed to be of the same opinion because before Taeyong had a chance to act, he was already in motion, and with a few well-placed hits the men were all on the floor. Taeyong walked to stand beside Zoro, grabbing some oars on the way, and turned to face the others, now sporting lumps and bruises of all sizes. She had to admit the swordsman was quite good, much better than she had expected anyway, and was definitely someone she could rely on. The small part of her that was still debating his troublesomeness added a point to troublesome, but she kept her mind focused as she held out the two oars and stated an order, pouring all the annoyance she felt into the word, "Row."

With a single look at Taeyong's and Zoro's faces, the men didn't hesitate to take the oars and row as quickly as possible to the shoreline. The only man who wasn't rowing seemed to recognize Zoro from somewhere and began spouting apologies to the swordsman. Taeyong didn't listen to most of it as she concentrated on drying off without lighting anything on fire. When she was finished, the topic of conversation had changed and Zoro was now asking the men some questions, specifically details about their captain. Before any of the men could answer she jumped in.

"Buggy, or Buggy the Clown, is a captain whose specialty I believe is throwing knives. I've never met him or heard much but he does have a decent bounty, so there's a good chance he's not all talk."

"Buggy the Clown?" Zoro asked, not sure if the nickname was all that fearsome.

"Apparently he has a large, red nose and wears clown makeup. Beyond that I don't know anything about his personality." Too busy explaining to Zoro, Taeyong didn't notice Buggy's crew members wince when she described their captain's nose. Zoro missed it as well, not caring what they were doing so long as they kept rowing. The crewmen, though, exchanged looks before rowing faster - things would not turn out well for them if their captain overheard what these two were saying behind his back.

Zoro leaned his head back before smirking and motioning to Taeyong. "Hey, look at this. We've reached land."


	3. Buggy's Circus, Part 2

**So, thanks to an awesome friend (you know who you are :) ), I realized that the last version of this chapter had SO MANY typos and the like swarming like bees to honey. It was bad. Very, very bad. And I apologize...profusely. There's probably more that I'll need to edit, but at least this version shouldn't have spelling mistakes, though in all honesty I'm editing this in the middle of the night while hiked up on caffeine, which only helps so much. In the meantime, here's a better, though-still-probably-rough version!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Once the docks were spotted, it took no time at all before their small dinghy pulled up and was tied securely to a post. Finishing the knot around boat's bow, Zoro stood up to find Taeyong taking in their surroundings and the three men from before gone, leaving only empty space in their wake. Zoro turned to Taeyong, adjusting the three swords at his waist, but before he could speak a massive explosion tore through the town knocking down a row of buildings and houses at it went.

"What was that explosion?" he asked.

"It was one of Captain Buggy's Buggy Balls." The two crew mates looked to their left to find the three men from before poking their heads out from around the corner of a building down the street and almost as far away from the explosion as they could get while still being heard. "He famous for them," another piped up.

"I've never heard of them," Zoro said as he faced the direction the explosion had come from.

Taeyong shrugged. "Neither have I, but come on - let's check it out. The captain is sure to have heard that, too."

"Yeah. And something tells me he'll get there before we will."

Taeyong smiled at the comment, noting that the swordsman was most likely right, if this morning was anything to go by. Her new captian seemed to be the type that acted first and thought later. Still musing about where to look, Taeyong stopped short when she and her crewmate found themselves at the edge of the explosion's aftermath. Finding the wreckage might not have take long, but the damage was much bigger than Taeyong had first thought. Rather than just taking out a row of houses, the 'Buggy Ball' as the three pirates from before had called it had taken out an entire street, one that ran a good length of the town. At one end was the beginnings of a forest, but on the other sat a tall building with a circus tent up top. Without a word Taeyong followed Zoro down the empty street to the base of the building. Looking to the top, Zoro sighed "It would be nice if we didn't have to find a way up from the inside. Maybe we could climb up." With a thoughtful expression, Zoro started walking to the wall and studying it as if to look for handholds.

Studying the ground instead of the building in front of them, Taeyong knocked on the road slightly and smiled. "I think I have a way," she said, motioning for Zoro to stop. "Stand still for a moment."

Ignoring Zoro's curious look, Taeyong walked up beside him and lifted her foot. "You might want to hold on. I'm still new at this, so it might not end well."

"Hold on to what exa-"

Zoro didn't get a chance to finished before Taeyong slammed her foot down, forcing the ground directly below them to blast up and propel them both towards the roof. The two flew up to the top in a matter of seconds, but instead of landing safe and sound they continued past the roof and flew further into the air. Thinking fast Taeyong grabbed Zoro by the arm and kicked out flames from her feet, forcing them both over to the roof's edge midair. Once they were over the roof she let go, letting Zoro land safely before landing herself. Glancing over the edge at the two thin columns of earth now sticking out of the ground, Taeyong muttered to herself, "Well, the landing wasn't great but it seems we got up here just fine."

She turned back to the swordsman only to find him still crouched where he landed, looking more than a little shocked and frazzled with his hair standing on end and his body unmoving. Taeyong walked up behind him and let her hand ghost over his shoulder. Afraid that touching him would make him topple over, she opted for speech. "Are you ok?"

In a still shell-shocked whisper, Zoro answered, "I thought you said you were a firebender."

"I am."

Zoro decided to state the obvious. "That wasn't fire." Recovering quickly, he stood with his weight rested on one foot turned around, perfectly relaxed again but rooted as he waited for an answer. After deliberating for a moment Taeyong spoke.

"It's too much of an explanation to go into here. I'll explain it later, but the short answer is that was firebending, it just didn't look like it."

Zoro shrugged and turned towards the voices coming from his right. "Suit yourself." Satisfied for the moment Zoro simply decided to let it go.

* * *

The voices grew louder as the two pirates approached the red and white striped tent, and as they walked their way around it Taeyong could hear a cheer resounding "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" When both she and Zoro rounded the last corner they found themselves watching a crowd of circus-dressed pirates all focused around a cannon, where a girl with orange hair had apparently just knocked down another similar suited pirate. She seemed to have just finished saying her piece as there came a familiar voice from the other end of the cannon yelling to put the fuse out. Taeyong sighed and shared a quick look with Zoro - there was only one person with that voice. It seemed they had found the captain. Zoro turned back and was the first to speak.

"I'll take care of the ones rushing the girl."

Looking back to the commotion, Taeyong noticed a smaller group of the pirates had started to charge forward and nodded. "Then I'll take care of the cannon."

Quickly the two split up and rushed into the thick of things before any of the pirates around noticed what they were up to. Zoro didn't even pause before blocking the incoming mob with his scabbards, while Taeyong hurried over to the cannon and the girl, who she was surprised to see had gripped the fuse with both hands in an attempt to smother the flame. Taeyong knew the attempt wasn't likely to succeed and that if it did the girl's hands would get burned in the process. So before it could get to that point, the young firebender placed her hand on top of the girl's and sighed, smothering the flame herself and taking the girl by surprise.

"Thanks, for helping the captain out when he was in a pinch." Taeyong's expression hardened as she continued, "It isn't a good idea to put a fire out like that, though. That's the way to get burned, and it's not the most pleasant of experiences." Leaving the girl to her own devices and thoughts for the moment, Taeyong left for her captain, who was sitting tied up in a cage made of stone and metal. Knocking lightly on the top she realized the miniature prison was made mostly of concrete and not easily broken apart. So instead she opted to sit on top of the cage and continue watching the scene from there.

Zoro had already taken care of the charging pirates and turned to look at the girl, who had sunk to the floor in shock, before asking if she was ok. Barely hearing the girl's reply, Taeyong turned instead to Luffy.

"Captain, who is she?"

"She's Nami. I want her to be our new navigator!"

Zoro glanced up at them. "Oh, really? That would be good." Nami looked personally offended, like Luffy had dared to say the unthinkable.

"We really do need one of those," Taeyong mused. Her navigation skills weren't all that great as she mostly relied on other people's directions, and she had a feeling that her crew mates' skills were even worse if the conditions she found them in gave any clues.

Her thinking was interrupted by a loud, arrogant voice. "Ah, you must be the Pirate Hunter Zoro. Come to collect my bounty, have you?"

Zoro placed the swords he had used to defend Nami back around his waist as he replied. "No, I don't really care about that. I'm no longer a bounty hunter."

"Oh, but I care quite a bit about you. If I kill you, my reputation as a pirate will soar."

"You'll die if you come after-" But Zoro wasn't able to finish as Buggy threw himself forward, throwing knives aimed right for Zoro's heart. Taeyong had never seen the swordsman fight, and she figured now was as good a time as any to see what he could do. Expecting to see an all-out fight between the two pirates, she was pleasantly surprised when Zoro finished the fight before it even began. In less than a second the big-nosed clown had landed face down and in pieces.

Zoro was also surprised by the result, though he was more annoyed and suspicious than anything. Looking down at the body, Taeyong began to feel suspicious herself and she felt something was off. It was as if she was missing something obvious but couldn't place it, and that feeling only intensified when the surrounding pirates began to smile and laugh as their captain lay on the ground. Zoro had sheathed his swords and struck up a conversation with Luffy when Taeyong finally figured out what was bothering her. The dead pirate's body heat was stable. It was years ago and the memory was buried deep, but Taeyong knew how fast someone's body heat left them when they died and knew how it felt to feel it through firebending. And this pirate's body heat wasn't falling. It was steady, which could only mean one thing. Ignoring the question Zoro had just thrown at her, Taeyong, still staring at the pirate captain, muttered, "He's still alive."

At this Nami whipped around, "But that guy just cut clean through him. He's in pieces!"

"But his body heat's stable," Taeyong explained, finally tearing her eyes away. "If he were dead his body heat would be falling at a rapid pace, but it's not, meaning he must still be alive. Plus he's not bleeding. If he were chopped into pieces, shouldn't he be bleeding everywhere?"

Nami's eyes narrowed as she took the information in. "What do mean by his body heat. You can't feel that - not from that distance anyway."

"I can, actually. I'm a firebender, meaning that I can control fire," Taeyong added when she saw Nami get confused. Lifting her hand, she show Nami the same flame that she showed Zoro and Luffy the day before. Quickly putting out the fire, Taeyong continued, "through training I have learned to consciously judge and even keep track of the amount of heat inside a person's body. When someone dies, their body stops producing heat, so-"

"ZORO! WATCH OUT!"

Taeyong's explanation was cut short when Zoro suddenly doubled over, clutching his stomach, to reveal a throwing knife with a hand still attached sticking out of his back. But Zoro was already drawing a katana and spinning around to face his opponent before she could do anything, so Taeyong figured he was fine enough for the time being. She decided to finish her explanation to Nami quickly. Jumping down from concrete cage Luffy had somehow trapped himself in, she gestured to the now-standing Buggy and concluded, "You see? Not dead."

By now Nami was staring at Taeyong in utter shock, but the firebender was becoming more concerned about the swordsman. He was still in decent shape but had started to breath heavily. If the fight continued, he wouldn't be in decent shape for much longer. Zoro seemed to notice this fact, too, as his face grew darker by the second. And Luffy seemed to have caught on as well because Taeyong heard him speak from behind her, "Protect Nami."

"Yes."

Taeyong walked over to where Nami was standing on the other side of the cannon, making sure to position herself as a barrier between Nami and the largest group of clown pirates. Nami looked at her in shock, having not heard Luffy's command. "What are you doing? You're not going to help him?"

Taeyong just shrugged. "The captain says he has it covered."

"What's he planning to do all tied up like that?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

They didn't have to wait long before Luffy sucked in a lungful of air and shouted, "STABBING HIM IN THE BACK IS DIRTY, YOU BIG NOSE!"

It would seem that Taeyong didn't have to worry about the clown pirates, because the second Luffy finished shouting 'big nose' they were all scrambling back towards the tent and giving their captain a wide berth along the way. Their captain, though, looked too concerned with Luffy to even notice them, let alone do anything to warrant that reaction. With a shout he threw one of his hand-knives to straight at Luffy, who caught it neatly in his teeth before biting it clean in half. "I'm going to be the one that takes you down," Luffy declared before turning his attention to his crew, "Zoro, Taeyong. Run away!"

Zoro looked back at Luffy before sharing a glance with Taeyong, who merely nodded to the cage. "If you can handle the cage, I still got the cannon." Zoro smirked.

Without another word he walked over to the cage, inspecting it for a moment before he began to lift it up over his shoulder and carry it turned back to the cannon, leaving Nami to watch Zoro's slow progress to the edge of the roof. With a quick calculation she raised her foot before stomping down and sending a piece of the stone roof to hit the underside of the cannon's opening, causing the cannon to make a soft groan before rotating up and over to aim at the clown pirates and their giant circus tent.

Buggy, who like Nami was too busy staring after Zoro to notice the cannon now aimed at him, shouted back to Luffy, "I thought you were going to take me down, not run away! I won't let you go so easily."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Everyone's attention focused on Taeyong and she lifted her finger and showcased a small flame hovering over its tip. Nami caught on first, saying, "The cannon's been flipped. How did you do that?"

Taeyong smiled before lowering her finger to the already-short fuse. Ignoring the clown pirates' panic and protests she made sure the fuse was lit and turned to walk away, dragging Nami with her. "I simply provided enough force to rotate the muzzle up and over the supports. Since the supports were already stuck into the ground, it was easy enough to flip." Reaching the edge of the roof, Taeyong and Nami jumped down to the next roof and landed beside Zoro and Luffy just as the Buggy Ball exploded behind them.

"I simply firebended."


	4. Buggy's Circus, Part 3

**Chapter 4**

The trip down from the rooftops didn't take very long and soon enough the group of four had made their way through a side street and were sitting in a small square, resting and discussing what to do next. Luffy had wanted out of the cage, obviously, but Taeyong was more concerned about Zoro, who had to carry both Luffy and the cage the whole way and was now slumped against the porch of a nearby shop. It was only after Zoro's insistence that he was fine and just needed to rest a bit that Taeyong turned her attention to the cage. She rested a hand along the bottom of a bar and gripped hard, heating the steel until it started to smoke. When she finally let go a portion of the steel pulled away with her hand and landed, still red hot, on the street. "It'll take a while to melt enough bars to let you out, captain, but it's possible."

"It'll be faster if we use this," Nami interrupted, holding out her hand and displaying a key hanging from one finger.

Zoro looked impressed. "How did you get that?"

"I'm a thief, but I only steal from pirates," Nami answered before tossing the key towards Luffy, "Here. This will pay back my debt to you, since you saved my life."

"Awesome!" Luffy reached out for the key, but before he could grab it an older White Terrier snatched it up and swallowed it down, leaving the group of humans in shock. Luffy was the person to react first.

"YOU STUPID DOG! That thing you just swallowed isn't food!"

While Luffy and the white dog started fighting over their differences, Taeyong just turned again to the half-melted bar and went back to work. Some minutes and two steel bars later she deemed the opening big enough to let Luffy through and stepped back to tell him so when another voice cut the air. "Oi! Don't do anything to Shushu."

The fighting stopped as Luffy turned to the new voice and found an older man walking towards them. His hair had been pulled up like a poodle's and he sported skimpy armor made from cookware, which Taeyong strongly suspected he had made himself. Zoro was more interested in the man, however, asking who he was. The old man quickly introduced himself as Boodle, mayor of the port town, before realizing Zoro's condition and immediately offering to give him first aid. While Zoro insisted he was fine, Boodle half convinced and half dragged him into an empty house nearby, and Taeyong took that moment to show Luffy the opening she made in the cage bars.

Once he was out of the cage, Taeyong decided to ask for permission to take care of Zoro since she was sure he would reject any help from Boodle. Luffy seemed to know her thoughts, because before she could open her mouth to ask Luffy cut her off. "Can you take care of Zoro for now? Don't let him move around until he's ready."

"Yes. We'll catch up to you later, then." Taeyong smiled to herself as she walked away, wondering at how perceptive her captain was.

* * *

Like she thought, the swordsman had rejected every piece of first aid Boodle had tried to put forward and was now lying down in one of the rooms, choosing to simply ignore the kit Boodle was holding out. Walking up behind the mayor, Taeyong took the kit from his hands and explained that she would take care of the swordsman from here. Boodle was more than a little relieved and was quick to leave the two of them alone.

"I don't need anything. I can just sleep it off," Zoro muttered from the bed, his eyes still closed.

Taeyong just shrugged before sitting down and pulling back the covers, ignoring his protests. "The captain said to take care of you, so that's what I'm going to do. Just sleep if you want to. I'll be finished by the time you wake up." Digging through the kit Boodle left her, the firebender pulled out some bandages and a bottle of alcohol and set them aside to take a look at the wound. It wasn't very deep but was still bleeding, which could be a problem if it didn't stop soon. Nevertheless the swordsman was probably right in that he could sleep it off, though Taeyong figured it was best to be safe than sorry. A loud snore caught her off guard and she looked up to find Zoro completely relaxed and out cold.

"Well, it's a good thing he's unconscious," Taeyong muttered, "because this would hurt otherwise."

Being careful not to wake the man, she soaked some of the bandages in the alcohol before pressing them into the wound until the bleeding stopped. While she was waiting for the blood to clot, Taeyong could hear a commotion going on outside. She paid it no mind, though, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand. The captain could handle it, she was sure, and soon enough it quieted back down, proving her right, though she swore something had caught on fire at some point. Once she was sure the bleeding had stopped, Taeyong quickly wrapped the remaining bandages around the swordsman's waist before pulling his shirt back down over the wound.

After Taeyong had made everything secure enough for Zoro to move around in, she sat back and waited for him to wake up. It didn't take long for that to happen, however, because no sooner had she sat back to wait than the house they were in gave a groaning crunch and the ceiling caved in, burying both crewmates in the rubble.

Taeyong pushed aside some of the wood holding her down and managed to scramble out from underneath the rest. She found Zoro easily enough as he pushed his way out of the wreckage and heard her captain shout out, asking if they were still alive. Zoro answered before she could, "Of course we're alive, but that's one hell of a way to wake up."

"At least we weren't hit directly by the cannon - that would have hurt worse." Taeyong helped Zoro to his feet and both of them walked over to the others. Nami was staring at them in wonder and almost awe, while Luffy was happily waving them over and explaining what they had missed. Apparently Shushu had stayed in town to guard the shop they had rested in front of, and when some guy with a lion came looking for Zoro, it had attacked Shushu, ransacked the shop, and set the building on fire. Luffy, who had been knocked out of the way when the lion first came, then went and beat up the lion and its trainer, bringing the food it stole back for Shushu. The mayor, Boodle, stood back a ways as he listened to the story and unbeknownst to all was slowly working himself into a frenzy. By the time Luffy was finished he had had enough and shouted out.

"That's it! I'm the mayor of this village and I won't let our hard work be destroyed by some pirates! I'm going to fight!"

"W-wait a minute, mayor!" Nami cried out, reaching for the back of Boodle's shirt, but the mayor had already stormed off towards the big red-and-white tent.

"I like him," Taeyong said.

Luffy just smiled. "I like him, too."

Nami turned on them in shock, but before she could speak Luffy stepped up. "Don't worry. Since I like him, I won't let him die. Now our goal is the Grand Line, and we need Buggy's map to get there. Will you join us? You need the map, too, and we can take the treasure along with the map."

There was a moment of silence before Nami spoke, "I won't become a pirate, so instead of being crewmates, we can be allies, working towards a common goal."

Zoro scoffed quietly before whispering to himself. "It's official, then. She's our new navigator."

Looking at how Luffy's smile widened, Taeyong found herself nodding in agreement. Her captain had a way of dragging people in like a magnet. It had already happened with herself and Zoro. Once they took even one step towards him they were hooked, and with Nami's proposal Taeyong figured it was only a matter of time before her alliance became permanent.

* * *

Walking quickly in the direction Boodle had taken off, the group soon found themselves watching a faceoff between the mayor and the clown-faced pirate, Buggy. Unfortunately it seemed Boodle was losing as Buggy had managed to strangle him from the top of a building, so Luffy took it upon himself to step in and quickly saved Boodle from his fate before knocking him out cold, taking Nami by surprise. Taeyong could see his reasoning. Boodle was mostly likely going to get into more trouble than he could handle if he was conscious, but ramming him head first into a brick wall wasn't probably the best way to knock him out. He was still breathing easily, though, so Taeyong couldn't fault the captain too much. Nami, however, could and was currently shouting at Luffy to not act so reckless while he just sat there listening. When she was done, he turned to Buggy.

"Hey, you huge, red, ugly big nose! I've come back to keep my promise and beat you!"

His insults seemed to be the exact opposite of how Nami had told him to act as Buggy went into a fit of rage and started shouting for his crew to fire a Buggy Ball directly at them.

When the specialized cannon ball went flying, so did Nami and Zoro. Taeyong stood behind Luffy, who hadn't moved, and waited. If the captain wasn't able to handle the Buggy Ball, Taeyong knew that she could at least control the explosion after the cannon made contact and ensure no one got hurt. Zoro noticed the two unmoving crew members and darted forward, trying to pull them to the right and away from the cannon ball, succeeding only with Taeyong.

"Come on, you two! Dodge it!"

"But I can handle it," Taeyong said, slightly off balanced.

"I'll take care of it," said Luffy as he waited. When he deemed the time right he sucked in a breath and expanded his stomach to the size of a baby elephant. "Gum gum balloon!"

The Buggy Ball made contact with Luffy's stomach. The others waited for it to explode, but were surprised when instead it rebounded and launched itself back towards the clown pirates, much to the pirates' horror. Once it had exploded, Zoro sighed, "You could have said something sooner."

Taeyong was suddenly pulled to the left as a voice behind her piped up. "What was that? You just expanded?! That isn't humanly possible!"

"I'm a rubber man, see?" said Luffy as he hooked a finger in his mouth and stretched it a good two feet.

"Why are you hiding behind me?" Taeyong looked over her shoulder to find Nami half-hidden behind her while pointing an accusing finger at Luffy.

"Are you all so relaxed that you can forget about us?"

The group as a whole turned their heads to see three men appear from the rubble left behind when the Buggy Ball exploded. The men had used their own crewmates as shields, Taeyong realized, as said shields dropped to the ground covered in smoke. One of the men charged at Luffy with a shout and leapt up, intending to strike the captain in the face, only to be kicked in the face himself. Luffy sent him flying in the direction of Nami and Taeyong, and once he was close enough, Taeyong slammed her foot down on top of his head and sent him face first into the ground, forming a small crater where he had landed. No one watched his landing, however, as they were all too intent on Luffy to see where the pirate flew.

"Hey," Nami said as Zoro engaged the second of the three men, leaving Luffy to deal with the clown captain, Buggy, "they don't look like they need our help with this. Let's go get the map and the treasure. They should be keeping it in a warehouse nearby."

Taeyong was hesitant, worried that Zoro wouldn't be able to do much with his wound, but when the swordsman blocked an incoming strike with practiced ease, she turned to Nami. "Alright, let's go."


	5. Buggy's Circus, Part 4

**Chapter 5**

Finding the warehouse took more time than Taeyong would have liked, but when they came up to a building guarded by a couple of clowns she breathed a sigh of relief. Nami wasn't so happy with what they found, however. Gritting her teeth, she reached down for the staff pieces resting in a strap around her thigh when suddenly the two guards fell to the ground in a synchronized motion. Taeyong strode ahead, stepping around them to get to the warehouse door.

"That should hold them for a few hours."

Nami walked up behind the firebender and glanced down at the guards. "What did you do to them?"

"Remember how I knew Buggy was still alive because of his body heat?" Once Nami nodded her head, Taeyong continued, "While I can monitor a person's body heat, which can tell me their condition and sometimes even their emotions and intentions, I can also feel how many people are around me at any given time and control the body heat of those people around me. If you raise a person's temperature to a certain point, they pass out. You have to immediately lower it again afterwards, of course, since they'll die if it stays too high for too long, but if you have enough control you can raise and lower their temperature easily without killing them."

Taeyong looked back at the wooden doors in front of them and sighed. "The real problem is these doors - they're locked. I could use my bending to break them open, but that might damage the treasure if it's too close to the entrance. Not to mention that my fire would be hot enough to melt any gold inside."

At that Nami stepped forward and positioned herself in front of the doors, pulling out some small pieces of metal while she did.

"Then leave this to me. The last thing we want is for something to happen to the treasure."

Taeyong blinked in confusion at the navigator's sudden actions and words but shrugged and stood back to let Nami pick the lock. It didn't take long before Nami grinned wide and pushed the doors open to reveal stacks upon stacks of treasure.

"Right," she said, tossing an empty sack to Taeyong, "you hold this open, and I'll put the treasure in. We don't have enough time or space to take everything, so we'll have to be picky about what we do take."

And so they made circles of the room, Nami debating which pieces to take and muttering to herself about jewel cuts and carats as she picked seemingly random pieces from the room and dropped them into the bag Taeyong kept open. It was only when two sacks had been filled to the brim and the women had to drag them because of their weight that Nami declared herself satisfied. Reaching into one of the bags, she pulled out a small chest complete with padlock. As she held it up, Nami walked towards the exit and said, "This should hold the map to the Grand Line. The lock on it is too complicated for me to pick now, so we can just take it with us and have one of the others open it later."

As Nami walked by Taeyong reached out to the box and gripped the padlock, stopping the thief for a moment. After a tense silence the padlock fell off the box and onto the ground, smoking. Taeyong gave a small smile. "I can't do much about a lock inside a door, but padlocks come off easy enough." Opening the chest, Taeyong took the map inside and put it inside her cloak. Nami returned the smile and grabbed one of the sacks, motioning Taeyong to do the same. Together they half dragged, half carried the gold and jewels back towards the others.

By the time they reached the fighting, Zoro had already defeated his opponent and lay in the middle of the street sleeping. Judging by the state of his bandages, Taeyong guessed his wound had reopened. Luffy, on the other hand, was still fighting the clown's captain and from the looks of things, their fight was far from over.

Buggy was the first person to notice their return as well as the bags they carried and launched his top half through the air, intent on recovering his treasure. He stopped a few feet short, though, and fell to the ground with a whine. Looking down the street, Taeyong noticed that Luffy had used Buggy's moment of inattentiveness to land a kick to his groin. While Buggy was recovering Luffy called out, "Hey, you two. Drop the bags and leave them there. Otherwise, he'll just keep coming after you."

Taeyong dropped her bag gratefully since it was too heavy for her liking, but one look from Nami had her picking it back up again.

"Of course I won't leave it! This treasure is ours now, since we stole it from pirates who couldn't protect it."

Buggy got up, grumbling, "Then you should be prepared to fight for it! Chop chop festival!"

Within moments, the pirate's whole body sectioned itself off and flew forward, and Taeyong moved just as fast. Quickly, she dropped her bag at Nami's feet and positioned herself between the thief and the clown. Breathing deep, she braced her feet on the cobblestones and roared fire, letting the flames lash out at any pieces that got within range. An enraged yell told her that she had reacted in time, and she let the fire die down as Buggy backed off.

Before Buggy could charge again, however, he suddenly started laughing as some of his pieces fell to the ground, twitching. Then the next instant he was howling in pain before laughing again. Nami and Taeyong stared in confusion as Buggy swung from one opposite to the other in turns, not quite understanding why the pirate couldn't get himself under control. Finally Luffy said, "Wow, you're tough," and the two looked past the now crying pirate to see Luffy holding one of Buggy's feet and alternating between tickling it and pinching it. Buggy turned on Luffy at these words, yelling at him to stop when Luffy lunged forward and landed a swift kick to the clown pirate's face.

Once Buggy was sprawled on the ground, Nami thought for a moment before dropping her share of the treasure next to Taeyong's. "Watch over this for a moment," was all she said before disappearing. Looking down at the treasure bags, Taeyong entertained the thought of using them as a chair but then remembered Nami's glare from earlier and how many of the pieces inside had sharp edges and thought better of it. Instead, she just watched as Buggy's floating head and Luffy squared off again.

Suddenly the clown shouted, "Chop chop parts assemble," and Taeyong watched as all the scattered body parts flew towards the pirate and reassembled themselves to form one body. What was strange, though, was how much smaller Buggy seemed to be when he had reassembled himself. The once rather tall captain was now no bigger than a toddler. And Buggy didn't seem to understand what had happened either, until a voice to the side of the street called out.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for these, would you?" Nami stood off a ways with a bundle of still-moving limbs and pieces tied up under her foot.

Luffy just laughed. "That's neat! You have some pretty cool skills. Now leave the rest to me!" And with one blow, accompanied by a "gum gum bazooka," the Captain Buggy was sent flying off through the sky.

* * *

Once Nami finished tying the spare parts down so they didn't go flying off like the rest of Buggy did, she made her way back to the treasure bags and struck up a conversation with Luffy about how to divide the haul. Taeyong took that opportunity to take a look at the damage Zoro had taken and see if he needed to be treated again. Thankfully the bleeding had stopped, but the damage was worse than before. The stab wound was deeper and more jagged than before and there was more bruising around the edges, indicating that the wound itself had been hit or ripped open specifically and had not just taken damage from the swordsman moving around too much.

Zoro woke up just as Taeyong was tucking his shirt back into his haramaki. Noticing the look on her face, he asked, "So what's the damage?"

"It looks as though it's been hit and reopened multiple times."

"Yeah, I let that acrobat idiot hit me a couple of times, and I ripped it open myself afterwards since he seemed to want a handicap."

Taeyong frowned, not happy with the swordsman's actions, but Zoro decided not to notice and instead took stock of his surroundings.

"So it's over, then?" He asked. When Taeyong didn't answer, Zoro looked back to find Taeyong still frowning and giving off a displeased aura he could swear was visible. "What?"

Luffy chose that moment to walk up and answered for the firebender, one of the treasure sacks in his hand. "Yep, it's over and we won!"

"That's good."

At that moment a group of people walked onto the street, taking notice of the pirates passed out from the Buggy Ball and the small band of people now standing in the middle of the street. Finally one of them noticed Boodle passed out on the ground and shouted, "Mayor!"

Half of the group quickly made their way over and sat the mayor up, dusting him off and attempting to wake him. The other half came over to the crew, asking what had happened and how the mayor ended up in that state.

"Ah," said Luffy, "I did that."

"What?!" shouted one of the villagers.

"How dare you do this to our mayor!" shouted another. "Who are you anyway? Are you guys pirates?"

"Yep! We're pirates!" Luffy stated.

Nami lost it. As the villagers all started to come at them, she started shouting how idiotic Luffy's admission was. Taeyong just looked at her in confusion. "But it's the truth. We are pirates."

Nami sent her a scathing look. " _You_ are pirates."

"Oh, right."

Luffy suddenly ran past them, carrying Zoro as he went. "Run for it!" he ordered.

He didn't have to repeat himself as both Nami and Taeyong took one look at the angry village stampede coming their way and dashed after him, Nami even managing to pull ahead.

They were dodging through alleys when a small white blur jumped behind them and stood before the mob, barking. The group looked back to find Shushu holding off the angry villagers with growls and barks, refusing to let even one person past. Luffy smiled and shouted back as they rounded the corner. "Thanks Shushu!"

It wasn't until they had reached the docks and set sail, Nami in her boat and the rest in Luffy's, that they met anyone else. The mayor came running up to one of the docks, sweating and cursing about how kids always left before they were allowed to. When he caught his breath, though, the only thing he shouted was, "Thank you!"

Luffy waved back.


	6. Captain Kuro, Part 1

**Chapter 6**

Nami wasn't happy with Luffy. It turned out that when Luffy had grabbed Zoro to carry him to the boats, he had left behind half the treasure. Insisting that the village needed the money to rebuild their town didn't help matters, but by the end of the afternoon Luffy had convinced Nami to let it slide this time. She had been adamant, however, that he was never to do something like that again. Eventually, she gave up trying to get a promise out of him, but not until after Zoro had laughed himself silly about the matter and Taeyong had finished fixing up his wound again – something she secretly was not happy about.

It was a few days later that Nami spoke up about something that was bothering her.

"Are we really going to the Grand Line in this?" she asked, gesturing to their two dinghies. "It's a dangerous place. We're going to need an actual ship and better supplies if we want to have any chance of surviving."

"That's right," Luffy agreed, "We'll need a lot more meat if we're going on long voyages."

"And a lot more sake," Zoro added.

"Those are not the supplies I'm talking about! We're going to need a ship with enough storage for all types of food - not just meat - as well as water, medical supplies, tools and materials to maintain the ship, and any treasure we find. Not to mention we'll need more people. Four people can't run a whole ship by themselves, not for very long anyway."

"So let's get a ship and some more people," Luffy said, not phased by the imminent doom Nami seemed so worried about. Suddenly, he jumped up and ran to hang off the front of the boat. "Hey! I see an island ahead!"

Nami watched him go with foreboding. "What did I get myself into?"

When they landed on the island, Luffy immediately disembarked, surveying the beach and nearby cliffs for any excitement. Nami, meanwhile, was more cautious. Either that or she was too busy reading the map they had stolen from Buggy to go scampering about. Taeyong and Zoro were left, then, to pull the boats ashore. Since they didn't have anchors and there weren't any docks, the two had to jump into the water and anchor the boats in the sand, which left Taeyong with a dissatisfied feeling as water sloshed in her boots. When they finished with the boats, Taeyong took the opportunity to touch her boots and the bottom of her cloak and heat them up, drying off all the water that had soaked through. After she was done, she stood up fully to find Zoro giving her an amazed look.

"Well, that's handy," he said.

Taeyong looked down at his soaked boots and pants for a moment before taking aim and sending a blast of fire from her hand to wrap around the swordsman's feet. Watching the sudden burst of flames hit him, Zoro jumped up in the air and tried to put the fire out, shouting, "Wait a minute!"

"Stop moving. I won't burn you - I have more control than that - but your clothes might get singed if you keep moving about."

Immediately Zoro stopped jumping and froze, giving Taeyong's concentrated face a look over. She was now focused solely on his shoes and pants. It was only a moment or two later that the fire dissipated, and the swordsman was free to move and test out his now dry footwear. "Huh, they're still warm."

There was a pause before Taeyong spoke. "I'm sorry for acting without warning. I didn't realize it would make you jump like that."

Zoro mentally scoffed a little at the swing to his pride, but let it go. It was unintentional after all - at least he hoped it was. "It's not a problem. I'm sure we'll have to get used to it anyway, considering Luffy does the same thing."

They both looked over to Luffy and Nami, who had somehow gotten into another argument. Luffy wanted to look for food first, Nami wanted to look for supplies first, and Taeyong just mentally sighed. She could already see similar arguments happening in the future, and from the current state of things, Nami was losing the battle. Too busy watching the two bicker, Taeyong didn't notice Zoro tensing or reaching for his swords until he dashed towards Luffy.

"Watch out!"

"Eh? What is it?" asked Luffy, but before Zoro could answer Luffy was dancing in the sand, dodging the pinballs that rained at his feet. Nami ran ducking for cover, and Zoro jumped back a little as well, still ready to fight. There was movement at the top of the cliffs, drawing the group's attention, and then small pirate flags went up one by one until they had created a formidable line of defense in the brush.

"Woah," said Luffy, impressed. "That's incredible."

Taeyong was doubtful. The flags looked homemade and they didn't have any distinct qualities; even the cross and bones were generic. Their small size also didn't invoke the intimidation she guessed they were supposed to. It was most likely a group of kids playing around.

Eventually a person around their age stepped forward out of the brush with a slingshot in his hand, both disproving and proving her theory right.

Raising his head and arms high, he announced, "I am Captain Usopp, the leader of the great pirate crew that conquered this village! If you're thinking of attacking this village, you should think again, lest my 80 million followers crush you like a bug!"

"80 MILLION!" Luffy was flabbergasted, but the others just looked at him like he was insane.

"Of course there isn't 80 million. That's impossible," said Nami.

Taeyong nodded in agreement. "Judging by the body heat, I would say there are only four members, including the captain." She raised her hand as she spoke and pointed to the area where the other three members were hidden. "The others should be in there."

Suddenly the bushes rustle and three small figures began running away from the cliff's edge screaming, "We've been caught!"

"Don't abandon me like that!" shouted Usopp.

Taeyong lowered her hand. "Now there's just one left."

Nami turned to the firebender with an exasperated look, "Thank you, for stating the obvious."

Still looking up at 'Captain Usopp,' Luffy laughed, "You're an interesting fellow." This was, apparently, the wrong thing to do because the 'captain' suddenly raised his slingshot with a new pinball aimed straight at Luffy.

"Don't laugh at me. I'm a man of great pride, and because of my great pride, I'm called Usopp the Proud! As you saw earlier, my skills with a pinball are better than any pistol. I'm a first class sniper!"

Luffy stopped laughing and turned serious, though he still seemed a little amused to Taeyong. After a pause she could swear was for dramatic effect, Luffy locked eyes with the other captain. "Since you mentioned pistols," he smirked, "bet your life on it."

His statement thoroughly rattled Usopp, who started shaking where he stood. But to his credit he kept his eyes leveled with Luffy's.

Zoro, who also seemed to catch onto Luffy's ruse, glanced up at Usopp before looking over at Taeyong and muttering, "Think he needs a push?"

Seeing the pirate's mischievous expression, Taeyong couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto her face. Simply jerking her head towards the staredown, she said, "Go ahead."

Zoro schooled his expression before walking to stand beside Luffy, and after a quick look to his captain and another mischievous smile, he called up to Usopp.

"This person that stands before you is a real pirate. Do you really want a fight?" In a casual but deliberate manner, Zoro laid his right hand on the katanas, making sure the man on the cliff noticed the action. It seemed that was just the push needed because not long after Usopp fell to his knees, muttering about how much more intimidating real pirates were.

At this, both Luffy and Zoro burst out laughing.

"I just repeated what I had heard before," explained Luffy, "from Shanks, the person I look up to. You remind me of Yasopp. He's your father, right?"

Nami, who had moved to stand beside Taeyong, gasped. Turning to see the navigator, Taeyong noticed she looked like Luffy had dropped a bomb rather than mention a pirate he'd met in his past. Taeyong became even more confused when Nami repeated the name 'Shanks' in fear and slight awe.

"Why is this Shanks such a big deal?" Taeyong asked her.

Nami's head whipped over in shock, causing Taeyong to feel more confused. Nami stared for a moment before asking, "You don't know about Red-haired Shanks?"

"I heard his name a couple of times when I was a bounty hunter. I didn't find him interesting enough, though, so I never went after his bounty." Taeyong shrugged, "Why?" Nami, now even more shell-shocked, decided she didn't want to try and explain anything, so instead the navigator just walked away, leaving the firebender behind. Watching her leave, Taeyong became even more confused.

"What did I say?"

After Usopp learned about Luffy's connection with his father, he was more than happy to lead them to the best, and only, restaurant in the village. He kept a constant stream of questions going for Luffy, asking about Yasopp, how he was doing, how good his skills were, and Luffy was more than happy to share the stories he had about the pirate.

The conversation gradually shifted to what Luffy and the rest of the crew were doing on the island, and Usopp was quick to say there was a small ship they could use. He went on to explain that the richest person on the island had a small ship that might fit what they needed. Three of the crew members were excited to speak with the person, but Nami rejected the idea when she learned the they were an orphaned girl still sick with grief. Usopp then offered his services as a crewmember, so long as he was the captain, but was quickly shot down by everyone. When he reacted with shock and confusion, Taeyong simply pointed to Luffy, explained he was the captain, and left it at that. Usopp was in the middle of replying when he suddenly jumped up and left, exclaiming, "I almost forgot! It's that time again!"

After he left, the group exchanged looks. "Maybe he couldn't take the bad news," suggested Zoro. "You know, that he couldn't be the captain."

"I doubt it. He's probably used to rejection, so that shouldn't have affected him," said Nami.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we get some more of this meat to take with us. This is good!"

Taeyong just looked over at the captain, who had spoken around his latest mouthful, and sighed.

They were still eating when three little kids burst into the restaurant shouting 'the great Usopp Pirates are here!' and running over to their table. Luffy was too busy finishing the last of his plate to pay them any mind, but Taeyong took in their determined faces and wooden swords. "Are you the kids we saw earlier?" she asked.

"Yeah, they'd have to be," Nami said, looking them over as well. Zoro just watched as the kids raised shaking swords and pointed them to different members of the group.

Luffy rubbed his stomach and sat back against the booth they were in. "Ah, that was some good meat."

Unfortunately, the kids took his words the wrong way and cowered together in horror, as though their worst fears had come true.

"T-the captain…," one of them managed. "Did y-you….What did you do?!"

"Huh?" Luffy looked over, confused. Zoro, however, thought quick and decided to have some fun. "Oh, your captain?" he inquired, leaning forward. The others watched as he made the creepiest, most evil face he could muster before delivering the punchline.

"We ate him."

Immediately the group cackled like hyenas, Taeyong included, which only spurred the kids' fears on more. Acting together, they all recovered from their shock and faced Nami, jumping away and shouting Onibaba*. This caused everyone minus the navigator to laugh even harder, but it wasn't until one of the kids fainted that the group calmed down somewhat.

To reassure the other two, and make sure they didn't faint as well, Taeyong explained an abridged version of what happened before their entrance into the restaurant. As an apology for scaring them, she also gave them what was left of her meal, and soon they were all back to normal and happily chatting with everyone. After recovering from being called Onibaba, Nami ordered them some juice from the restaurant's owner as well. When they heard about Usopp's reaction after the older pirates declined his offer to become their captain, the Usopp pirates weren't surprised and were quick to explain that the captain went to a mansion at the same time almost every day.

"Mansion?" asked Nami, "You mean where the sick girl lives? What does he do there?"

"Yep! He goes to see her every day and tells her lies!" The group exchanged a confused look at the explanation.

Another kid piped up, "And sometimes we follow him when he's not paying attention and listen in. You wanna go?"

Smiling, Luffy agreed. "Of course we'll go!"

* * *

*For reference, an Onibaba is a 'demon hag' or a 'demon witch.' In Japanese folklore, there are stories of them doing many different evil deeds, including eating small children.


	7. Captain Kuro, Part 2

**Chapter 7**

The mansion in question was set on a low hill and stood apart from the other village houses, making it easy to spot if you knew what you were looking for. Even if they didn't have guides, Taeyong was sure they would find it just fine, but the kids had insisted they show the older pirates the way. They apparently wanted to listen while their captain lied, which is what had sparked the current conversation.

"He lies to her? That's terrible!" Nami announced, staring at the kids in shock.

"He's not a bad person. In fact he's great!" said Apple, "Right guys?"

"Yeah, he's awesome," Onion nodded in agreement.

That confused Zoro, and he pulled Onion up to eye level by the back of his shirt, gaining the boy's attention. "How is a liar 'awesome?'"

Onion didn't seem to mind. "Well, since Kaya - the girl he goes to visit - is always so sad, the captain goes to tell her special, made-up stories."

"Which makes her laugh," added Apple.

Carrot just smiled. "Captain Usopp is the best at telling lies."

"So when he tells Kaya those made-up stories, she feels better," Nami summarized.

"Yep!" said Onion, putting arms up in the air for emphasis.

"He's the best!" Apple agreed, raising his arms too.

"Where's Luffy?" Carrot asked.

The reaction was instantaneous. Everyone except Taeyong stopped and looked to the empty road where Luffy was supposed to be. Taeyong, however, knew where the captain was, so she just pointed to the fence not too far ahead of them. "The captain wanted to go on ahead - he said he'd climb the fence and meet us inside."

"Pardon the intrusion," a cheerful voice sounded in front of the group, drawing everyone's attention. Zoro dropped Onion, who landed with a small 'oof.'

"And you just let him?!" Zoro exclaimed.

"He was going to do it anyway, whether or not I would let him," Taeyong shrugged. "What's the problem?"

"Because he's probably gonna-"

"Gum gummmm-" Luffy began as he stretched his arms further, allowing his body to lay close to the ground. Zoro and Nami ran over to stop him, yanking on his arms and trying to get him to let go.

"Oh, I see."

"If you see," shouted Zoro, "then come over and help us!"

Taeyong trotted over to stand beside Zoro. "Captain," she said, leaning over to look Luffy in the eye, "this isn't a good idea."

"Ah. Really?" Asked Luffy as if the idea had just dawned on him.

"I meant help pull him away, not talk him down," Zoro elaborated.

Taeyong just pointed at his efforts, "But that's not working."

"Wait!" The three kids ran up to pull on Luffy's vest and get his attention, "There's an easier way. There's a hole the captain cut in the bushes surrounding the house."

"But I wanna-oops." Luffy suddenly looked down at his feet, cutting himself off mid-sentence. Worried and not liking where this was going, Taeyong followed her captain's gaze and froze at what she saw. She saw Zoro and Nami freeze too as Onion tilted his head in question.

"What do you mean, 'oops?'"

Luffy twisted his head around 180° to look Onion in the eye and smiled. "My foot slipped."

And that was all he got out before his arms snapped and the whole group was thrown high into the air.

* * *

Landing was not fun. Nami was the only one to land safely, which took Taeyong by surprise since she figured at least Luffy would have given thought to how he'd land when he launched everyone into the sky. But ironically, he had taken the worst hit and landed face down on some sidewalk bordering the house, cracking it in half. Zoro was the closest to landing on the house, but that just meant he landed in the grass. Not that the small cushion did any good, though, since he fell on his head. Taeyong herself had almost managed a clean landing, but no sooner did she fall onto one knee than three screaming, flailing little kids fall on top of her, forcing her face-first into the rough earth. Taeyong groaned as Carrot, Onion and Apple crawled off her back on unsteady limbs.

Zoro was the first to speak as he ground out, "Luffy…"

Taeyong looked over to where the swordsman had landed as she pushed herself up and had to admit it was an amusing sight. Zoro's head had formed a small crater and gotten stuck inside. He was currently on his hands and knees trying to pull his head free of the earth, and because his head was buried down in the ground, his butt ended up high in the air. To make matters worse, or funnier in Taeyong's opinion, he was grunting with every attempt to free himself.

"Luffy!" Nami snapped, "What the hell was that?!"

"Oops, sorry."

"Don't you 'oops, sorry' me. That could have killed us!"

"But you're alive."

"I said ' _could have_.'"

Nami and Luffy kept arguing back and forth until Usopp's voice rang out from above and halted the bickering. "Oh, don't worry about them, Kaya. These people are just some new recruits that heard about my adventures as a famous pirate captain and wanted to join the crew!"

"That's not it," Nami deadpanned.

"Stop twisting the truth," scowled Zoro, finally freeing his head.

"Oh, you're Kaya, right? We came to ask a favor of you," smiled Luffy. "Do you have a ship that we can have?"

"Captain," said Taeyong, "I don't think that's how people ask for a ship. It's usually best to offer money first in exchange."

Luffy just tilted his head. "But we don't have any money."

"What about the money we got from that clown guy?" Zoro asked.

"Don't you dare use that money!" interjected Nami. "That's my sha-"

"You there," interrupted a voice, "What do you think you are doing? I will have you know that this is trespassing. Now get out. Unless you have some business with me, that is?"

A man walked toward them from the corner of the mansion. Dressed in a fitted suit, he casually reached up and pushed a pair of glasses into place using his wrist, drawing raised eyebrows and questioning looks from everyone except Kaya, Usopp and Luffy. Zoro crossed his arms.

"Now who the hell is this guy?" he muttered, only loud enough for Taeyong to hear.

"No one good, I'm afraid," she whispered back.

Luffy, however, didn't seem to hear them. "Oh, hey! Can you give us a ship? We have money!"

"I have money. You don't," Nami cut in, exasperated.

"Certainly not," the man replied to Luffy, who then slumped in a momentary wave of depression. Looking past the boy in the straw hat, the man continued, "Oh, Usopp. How unfortunate to find you here. You've earned quite the reputation in the village. Word has it you've been on many an adventure, which is quite impressive for one so young as you."

Taeyong could practically hear his voice drip with sarcasm, but it seemed Usopp either couldn't hear it or decided to not pay it any mind. With a nimble twist, the boy swung down from the tree he was sitting in and stepped out in front of the pirates. "Well, I didn't realize you looked up to me that much. If that's the case, you should call me 'Captain,' like all of my other admirers do." He ended it with such a cheesy, wide grin that the firebender wasn't quite sure if he was serious or not.

"He can't be serious."

Apparently Nami was having the same issue.

"Captain, huh? Well, I had heard that your father also has something of a reputation in this village."

This comment seemed to throw Usopp off his game as he pulled back a bit. "What?"

"It's been about ten years now, correct? Since your father ran off to become a no-good pirate."

"Clahador-" Kaya interjected, but the man in the glasses wasn't finished.

"You'll never be anything but the son of a filthy pirate. Who knows what sort of trouble you're up to now. All I can ask is that you leave this respectable young lady alone. After all, you and she are from completely different worlds and you know it."

"Clahador, cease this at once!" Kaya called out. "Apologize to him."

Clahador just turned to address his mistress. "I don't believe there is really any reason to apologize to this savage young man, my lady. My goal isn't to slander - I am merely stating the facts." The dramatic sigh that left Clahador didn't quite fit his tone, but Taeyong put it aside. He may have been up to something, but now he was speaking towards Usopp again. "I sympathize with your situation, boy. You must hate your great idiot of a father for abandoning his family and his village because of his mindless lust for treasure."

"Don't you dare insult my father!" Usopp shouted, his hands curled up into fists.

The butler, however, didn't stop. "Why are you so worked up, Usopp? It's times like these when you should do what you do best and lie. Tell me how your father is really a traveling salesman-"

"Enough," Usopp growled.

"-or how you aren't really related by blood-"

"I said enough!"

Almost without thinking, Usopp charged forward and swung his fist, landing a sharp blow to Clahador's cheek and knocking him flat on his back.

"Shut up!" He yelled, glaring at the butler. "My father listened to his heart and chose a life of risk and adventure. I am proud to say that my old man is a brave warrior of the sea! You're right in that I do exaggerate from time to time, but never will I lie about who my father is! I am the son of a pirate, and I refuse to be ashamed of that!"

Taeyong heard a small gasp and glanced down to find Carrot, Onion and Apple looking to their captain in awe. Zoro noticed as well and tapped Carrot on the head to get his attention. The kid didn't turn around, but Zoro spoke anyway, "Well said, don't ya think?"

Carrot nodded.

"So pirates are brave warriors of the sea, are they?" The butler, Clahador stood up. "That's quite a twisted way of putting things. You don't seem to understand that you are living proof of his savage blood. You run around spouting lies and using violence when you don't get your way. And now you've brought your evil schemes against the lady of the house. How much money are you after? Will her whole fortune suffice? I wouldn't be surprised, considering your so-called 'heritage.'"

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" yelled Usopp as he raised his fist.

"Wait, Usopp! Stop!" Kaya called from her window, "Please don't use any more violence. I'll apologize for Clahador. He isn't a bad person - he's just trying to do what's best for me and sometimes he goes too far."

At his friend's words, Usopp slowly lowered his fist until it was back at his side. "Yeah, I get it, Kaya." Waving over to the three kids, he continued. "Come on, guys. Let's go. There's no more point in staying here." And without looking back, the sharpshooter went back the way they had come, climbing over the fence and out of sight.

Suddenly, Carrot stepped forward to face off against the butler. When Clahador looked down in acknowledgement, Carrot shouted out, "Hey, butler jerk! Our captain's not that kind of guy! He's Kaya's friend!"

Apple and Onion ran forward to stand beside their friend and shouted their own insults.

"You stupid jerk-face!"

"Yeah, jerk-face!"

Not in the mood to amuse them, Clahador glared down, scaring the kids to run and hide behind Nami. Once they were safely behind her, Onion whispered a small 'Onibaba, save us,' much to Taeyong's amusement. When Nami caught the firebender smiling, the navigator sent her a glare as she struggled to get the kid pirates out from behind her. Her attempts were quickly put to rest when Luffy's shout rang out. Everyone turned their attention to the straw-hatted captain and found him trying to lunge for Clahador while Zoro held him back.

"Stop it! You don't have a bone to pick with him!"

"JERK-FACE!"

"Let it go, Luffy!"

"I'll kick his ass!"

"This isn't our fight-"

Clahador had had enough. "You will all leave immediately!"

At this point Taeyong just sighed. Turning to the still struggling Luffy, she said, "Captain, we may not like it, but there's not much we can do here. Usopp has already left, and it doesn't look like they'll be willing to give us a ship." At the mention of Usopp, Luffy stopped and gave his first mate a look. Then, without warning, he popped his way out of Zoro's arms and catapulted himself over the fence with a quick shout. "I'm taking off. I'll meet up with you guys later!"

"I guess there's no reason for us to stay here, then," Zoro stated as he dusted himself off before looking to Nami and pointing at Taeyong. "From now on, though, I vote Taeyong deals with Luffy's antics. He listens to her."

"Agreed," Nami said, giving the firebender a calculating look.

Taeyong just glanced back and forth between her two crew members, "The captain listens to me? He usually just does what he wants, doesn't he?"

Nami and Zoro's appraising looks turned into deadpans at Taeyong's confusion. With a heavy sigh the two started towards the fence, the firebender not far behind.


	8. Captain Kuro, Part 3

**Chapter 8**

Not really knowing where they should go, the older pirates agreed to follow the kids around the island, quickly realizing how little there was to do. Taeyong wasn't surprised they had turned to piracy - it was probably the best way to pass the time. All the island had to offer besides a village and a small wood were open fields containing dozens of sheep, one of which was currently eating parts of Taeyong's cloak.

When they had first stopped alongside the fence, it had made a beeline for Nami's skirt. The navigator, however, was quicker and once she realized the small sheep's intention, she darted out of the way. Now she was perched on the pasture fence, far away from any hungry sheep below. After Nami had made her escape the young sheep set its sights on the next closest person, who unfortunately happened to be Taeyong. But after watching the wooley livestock munch on her cloak all quiet and content, the firebender hadn't had the heart to shoo it away. It was probably just as bored as they all were, and if eating her clothes gave the ram some entertainment, then Taeyong would happily sacrifice the heavy material. She just hoped it wouldn't have too many holes by the time they left.

The group stopped at this particular field because the two kids had said it was the best place to see everything that happened on the island. The path they were on lead from the shoreline, through the town, and supposedly stopped at Kaya's mansion. It was the main road through the island and was, therefore, the best place to spot any missing pirate captains.

Guessing that now would be as good a time as ever, Taeyong settled herself by the fence and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind of all her thoughts and focused on the heat she felt in the ground. She could feel the sun's warmth, as well as the warmth coming from other people, but she needed to be more comfortable detecting it in objects and the ground seemed like a good place to start. All she needed to do now was quietly focus on the heat source below her.

"Hey," a voice whispered, "are you sleeping?" Right. Kids.

"No, I'm meditating."

The firebender could practically hear the children's curiosity, so she explained further. Hopefully, she could answer all their questions at once and prevent more from coming. "Meditation helps me focus and is a good way to practice my bending, which is how I fight. It also requires that I be silent and focused on whatever area of my bending I wish to improve."

"So for your fighting style, you just bend over?" Apple asked, disappointed.

"Of course not!" said Carrot, jumping into the interrogation. "She obviously dodges their attacks first by bending to the side and then knocks 'em out with one hit, right lady?"

"I suppose that could be one way of putting it."

Apple frowned. "But you said you have to be quiet for medication."

"Meditation," Taeyong corrected.

"Being quiet sucks."

Taeyong sighed, but then was pleasantly surprised when no other questions came. She had maintained her focus throughout the children's interrogation, however, and was excited to feel the heat of her fellow crewmates through the ground. She was making progress.

"Hey, lady! Can you show us how you bend over other people's attacks-"

"Oi! Stop asking her useless questions," Zoro ordered. "If you're really that curious about how she fights, I can explain it to you, but right now she needs to concentrate. So don't interrupt." As an afterthought, he added, "And her name isn't 'lady,' it's Taeyong, so call her by her name!"

The kids then turned to the swordsman without missing a beat. "Then can you show us how the bending thing works?"

"Why can't we ask her questions if she's the one who needs to be silent?"

"Hey, why do you carry three swords?"

"And how do you know so much about meditation?"

"Are the other two spares?"

"Enough! Ask one question at a time you two!" Nami shouted, effectively ending the mayhem.

"I can't show you how bending works 'cause I can't bend. If she answered your questions she wouldn't be silent. I fight using the three sword style. Meditation is something I do daily as well. And I fight with all three swords at once, so the other two aren't spares."

"And don't answer their questions so quickly, either, Zoro!"

"Well, why don't you answer them then!"

Nami just huffed. Finally, she looked down and noticed something amiss. "Hey, boys, weren't there three of you? Where did your friend go?"

"Oh, you mean Onion," said Carrot. "He'll be back. He often disappears only to come running back in a panic."

Taeyong opened her eyes. If she strained, she could sense the barest trace of heat through the earth, and it was headed in their direction.

"Someone's coming from the forest," she announced. "They seem to be following the road, and they're running. So it might be your friend heading this way."

And sure enough, not a moment later a small figure came bursting into their line of sight, shouting at the top of its lungs. With surprising speed, it started to make its way to the fence.

Nami turned to Taeyong. "So you can sense him all the way over there and know it's one of the kids, but you can't find Luffy."

Taeyong just shrugged. "I could barely tell he was there, and him being their friend was just a guess. The captain wouldn't have left the island, but he's still outside the area I can sense."

"Huh, interesting. That certainly comes in handy."

By this time, Onion had caught up. "Ahh! Terrible news, guys!"

"Someone else is coming, too," Taeyong mentioned.

"Eh, what is it, Onion?" Apple asked, excited.

"Listen to me! Some nut job is on his way here and he only walks backward!"

Carrot and Apple didn't miss a beat. "You're lying."

"It's the truth, see? There he is."

Taeyong frowned at the tall figure coming up behind Onion. "He moves pretty quickly for a person who walks backward."

Zoro nodded. "And pretty quietly, too, for a weirdo."

The man apparently heard them and looked their way, indignant, "Now which of you people has the nerve to call me weird? I'm just a normal guy."

"Is that so? You certainly look insane."

Taeyong agreed with Nami's statement. Not only did the man before them walk backward, which was fairly odd to begin with, but he was also dressed in a bright blue suit with pink, heart-shaped sunglasses and had a strangely cut goatee. The man didn't act or look normal, so the firebender concluded he must not have been from around here.

He seemed, however, determined to prove them otherwise. Chuckling, he waved his hand towards the children, "You people have got it all wrong. I'm just your average person, an ordinary, run-of-the-mill hypnotist."

Zoro scoffed quietly to himself, speaking only loud enough that the two women on the crew could hear him. "A hypnotist is not your average person."

He didn't need to speak so softly, though, as the three Usopp pirates had launched into cheers and exclamations at the strange person's declaration.

"A hypnotist? That's awesome!" shouted Onion, all fear now miraculously gone.

"Hey, show us something!" demanded Apple.

"Yeah! Do something, hypnotist guy," ordered Carrot.

"What?! You fools. What makes you think I want to reveal my masterful hypnosis techniques to a group of roadside strangers and their kids," the man huffed before his expression suddenly changed and he stood up tall, a small metal ring hanging from his hand.

"Now," he said dramatically, "watch this ring closely, and then by the count of Jango, you will be in a deep sleep."

"You've got to be kidding me," Nami deadpanned.

"Alright, are you kids ready? 1...2...Jango!"

In a surprising turn of events, all three kids reacted immediately, falling onto their backs and snoring. But the group was even more surprised when the hypnotist himself fell back into a deep sleep. They didn't have to wait long, though, before he shot back up again and began walking backward, towards the opposite end of the island.

"Did he...just hypnotize himself?" asked Nami.

Zoro looked down at the kids who had just begun stirring, "Looks like that's what happened, but he did wake up before the kids. That probably means something."

"There might be more going on on this island than we first thought," Taeyong stated, watching the spot where the hypnotist disappeared. "It would be best if we go after the captain now. He should have had plenty of time to speak with Usopp."

Carefully, Taeyong stood and moved her cloak away from the sheep, who was reluctant to let go of the tasty fabric. Surprisingly, it didn't tear the cloak at all, and the only evidence left behind was a dark wet spot a few inches above the hem.

Apple sat up, hearing the last half of Taeyong's words, and looked up at the firebender in confusion. "But we can't find our captains. That's why we're sitting here, right?"

Taeyong just gave the boy a small smile, "Our captain went to talk with your captain. We would only be intruding if we went after them right away. They should be done by now, and even if we don't know where they are, we can still find them."

"She's right," Nami said as she jumped from the fence. "Now, you three, where does your captain usually go to think?"

"Over by the cliffs," Carrot answered.

"Right. Then to the cliffs it is." Standing up again, Zoro tucked his swords into his haramaki and started following the path the hypnotist had taken just a few minutes earlier.

"Wait!" cried Onion, quickly grabbing onto Zoro's pants and forcing the older pirate to stop. "You're going the wrong way!"

"No, I'm not! The cliffs are clearly this way," Zoro snapped.

"No, they're not," Carrot sighed before pointing the opposite direction. "They're this way."

Nami looked at Zoro, incredulous. "You can't seriously be that bad at directions. Why did you think they were that way?"

"Because the cliffs are always through the trees," Zoro said, shrugging.

"There are no trees over there!"

Zoro looked to where Nami was pointing before he frowned. "Where'd they go?"

Nami just pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just follow the kids and go find Luffy."

Shrugging off her comment, Zoro sauntered after the group of kids.

* * *

"Well, this is the place!" Carrot announced, pointing to a worn-out patch of ground by the cliffs' edge.

"There?" Nami asked, "That close to the edge?"

"Yep," Onion nodded. "Our captain usually comes here to think."

Taeyong walked over to the bare patch of ground and ghosted her hand over the earth, ignoring the current conversation. It was still warm, so someone had been here recently.

Not noticing the firebender, Onion continued on as he puffed out his chest. "The captain's really brave. None of us can sit that close to the edge."

Apple nodded. "Yeah, but not even the captain can look over the edge."

"Taeyong, what can you see down there?"

Taeyong looked back as Zoro approached her. Before she could get a word out, however, the kids noticed where she was standing and started to panic.

"Oh no! She's gonna fall over!"

"Was she really looking over the edge?!"

"Don't fall, bender lady!"

"Luffy's down there," Taeyong said, "He probably fell over at some point."

Nami rushed to the edge and looked over, "What?! He should be okay, right?"

Zoro shrugged. "He _is_ made of rubber."

"Well come on. Let's go get him, then. There's a path right over there," Nami stated, making her way past the others and down towards the shore.

Zoro and the kids made to follow Nami, but the swordsman turned back to Taeyong when she didn't move from the edge. "You coming?" he asked.

"Yes. I'll just meet you down there."

With that Taeyong hopped off the cliff, using small streams of fire to keep herself airborne. Unfortunately, Carrot didn't see her recover and darted to the edge, shouting, "Ah! She fell!"

Right as he reached the edge, the firebender's head came into view a few feet away, and the young pirate stepped away in shock. But as he stepped back, his foot slipped and suddenly he fell off the cliff as well. Carrot closed his eyes as he felt himself falling, but before he could scream for help, someone caught him. Panting, he cracked his eyes open.

"Don't worry. We won't fall," Taeyong assured him.

"We're flying!"

Taeyong gave a small chuckle at that. "I'm a firebender, so I can use my fire to fly." Using her free hand, Taeyong pointed to her feet. "See?"

"That's so cool!"

Zoro poked his head over the cliff. "Good, you caught him. In that case, we'll meet you two down by Luffy."

With a nod, Taeyong began to coast down to the shoreline - with Carrot pointing at everything he could see - and wondered how her captain had fallen off the cliff.


	9. Captain Kuro, Part 4

**Chapter 9**

Carrot wasted no time when they landed on the rocky shore, saying something about a long stick as he sprinted off. He was rather quick to find one and was back at Taeyong's side before she had the chance to approach her captain. It was easy to tell that he was alive. Even if she hadn't felt his body heat from the cliff's edge before, his light snoring was now obvious.

Carrot didn't seem so sure about the straw-hatted captain being alive, though, as he stopped Taeyong and brandished his stick in front of her, explaining in a serious voice, "Captain Usopp told us to always check if something's alive with a stick first. There was one time it saved his life."

"Really?" the firebender inquired, unbelieving. The chance that the young pirate captain had been in a life-threatening situation was thin. Especially if he had lived on this island his whole life.

"Yeah! There was this one time we found a porcupine in the forest," Carrot explained while poking Luffy with the stick. "Apple was going to go touch it and see if it was dead, but the captain stopped him and told him about how he once came across a giant porcupine and used a stick to check if it was dead. And it was a good thing he did, too, because it woke up and threw huge, long quills at him! If he had been any closer they would have gone right through his head!"

"So anyway, Apple didn't feel much like touching the porcupine we found after that. But then the captain picked up a stick and poked it right in the back and whoosh! It shot quills at all of us, and they just missed our heads!"

"So now you always check first with a stick?" Taeyong concluded.

"Yep."

Carrot continued poking Luffy until the captain sat up yawning. Nami and the others appeared from a crevice in the cliff face, and the navigator was quick to run over. "Luffy! What happened? What did you do?"

Luffy stopped mid-yawn and glanced up at the people and cliffs around him. "Good morning, everyone. What are we doing at the bottom of the cliffs?"

"How would we know?!" the navigator snapped back. "What happened here anyway? I thought you and Usopp would be on top of the cliffs.

Reaching for his hat, Luffy stood up and began to dust himself off. "We were, but then we saw that butler guy from before talking with another strange guy that walked backward."

"You mean Clahador and the hypnotist?" asked Zoro. "That's certainly a strange combination."

"Anyway, the strange guy's a pirate, and the butler guy's the captain of the crew. They said that tomorrow they're planning to attack the village."

"What?!" exclaimed Onion.

"Pirates are going to attack the village?!" Carrot shouted.

"Tomorrow?!" cried Apple.

"Yep." Luffy nodded, "And they plan to kill the sick rich girl during the chaos."

All three children jumped back together, shouting, "They're going to kill Kaya?!"

"That's what they said."

Carrot, Onion, and Apple looked at each other for a moment and swallowed before they all started speaking at once.

"That's horrible!"

"He's an evil pirate!"

"He's planning to kill everyone!"

"Including Kaya!"

"The captain must have gone to warn everyone!"

"So then they can run away!"

"Before the pirates get here!"

"That sounds like the captain!"

"We should help, right?"

"Right?"

"Right!"

"Right! We're off to help the captain and run away!" the three shouted. They each raised an arm high in the air and ran off, not bothering to look back at the older pirates. As the strawhats watched their figures fade off into the distance, Zoro sighed.

"So what did that Clahador and hypnotist say that made you want to take a nap?" he asked Luffy.

Luffy picked up his straw hat. After dusting it off, he placed it on his head and stared at the swordsman, confused. "That's the thing. I don't remember going to sleep or getting down here at all."

"Well, there's nothing we can do to help you remember," Nami said. "Those kids were talking about clearing out the village. If they and Usopp can manage to do it, that would be the ideal solution. The pirates won't be able to hurt anyone because the town will be abandoned."

Jumping to his feet, Luffy exclaimed, "Oh no! This is bad!"

"What is?" asked Zoro.

"We have to get meat from the restaurant before the owner runs away!"

Zoro just huffed before whacking the captain with the hilt of his sword. Nami crossed her arms and shook her head. "How did I come to travel with this guy anyway?" she asked.

Taeyong shrugged at the question and answered, "We've all thought that."

Nami made an incoherent sound before suddenly calling out to everyone. "Alright, listen up! Stocking up on supplies isn't really the issue here. The real issue is our boats. We know that our boats are tied up on the other side of the island, away from prying eyes, but that was before we knew there were other pirates nearby. If the pirates are concealing their ship like we are, there's a good chance they already found our boats, and more importantly, our treasure."

"Something has been bothering me as well," Taeyong spoke up. "We know that the pirates are attacking tomorrow, but we don't know any specifics on where they'll be attacking from or at what time. As it is now, we're unprepared for whatever is going to happen."

Luffy frowned as he replied, "So we need to check our treasure and look for the butler guy's crew on the way to the meat shop?"

Taeyong sighed and said "close enough" the same time Nami ground out a "no," causing the navigator to glare at the firebender. Taeyong just shrugged in response.

"Right. Then let's go check on the boat first!" Luffy announced.

"Captain, I think we may cover more ground if we split up," Taeyong suggested. "If I fly, I should be able to spot a hidden ship much easier and quicker than if we were to search for it on foot."

Zoro grinned, saying, "Yeah, that would work. We could meet up here at the cliffs when we're done."

Luffy nodded and began to walk towards the path that led back to the village. Throwing his hands up, he shouted, "Right! Let's go make sure our boats have enough meat!"

"It's money!" Nami corrected, smacking the back of Luffy's head.

"Right, right."

Taeyong watched the trio walk away before taking off into the skies. Feeling the wind rush past her head, the firebender's smile widened as she angled herself away from the cliffs and over the calm water below. The ship, she figured, couldn't be too far from the shore, but it would need to be far enough that one couldn't see it from the cliffs.

It wasn't until her second time circling the island that Taeyong noticed a small fishing boat headed out toward open water. The boat had two passengers but no fishing equipment, which was odd. Taeyong flew higher into the air before circling the boat a few times, using her position to get a better look at the boat's occupants. Both men were wearing suits, and though one also wore a hat, they were easy to recognize as Clahador, Kaya's butler, and Jango, the hypnotist she and the others had met earlier. It wasn't hard to see they were headed toward a group of rocks a small way from the shoreline, so with one final lazy circle, Taeyong flew ahead of them.

Had either man looked up, they would have noticed a rather large bird circling their boat before breaking away and flying towards their destination, diving down at the last second to hide behind the rocks on the far side. Both men were, however, too engrossed in their current conversation to notice, and so they kept talking of the crew's activities until they arrived at the Black Cat Pirate ship and climbed the rope ladder thrown to them.

Taeyong nestled herself amongst the taller rocks to keep her position hidden from the pirates onboard. It took a few minutes for the butler and hypnotist to arrive, but when they did Clahador immediately made his way to the bow of the ship. Turning to face the crew, he began his speech.

"Gentlemen," he said, "After 3 long years of absence, I called for you to come to my aid, and here you are!"

Cheers met his words, but he merely waved his hand for silence and continued. "Your loyalty will be greatly rewarded - I intend to be more than generous when I divide the take. So at dawn tomorrow, destroy the village to your heart's content."

More cheers came from the gathered crew, but Taeyong didn't stay to hear them. Instead, the firebender climbed down from her perch and away from the ship, and once she deemed herself at a safe distance, she took off, heading back to the cliff.

By the time Taeyong spotted her fellow crewmembers, night had fallen. The Strawhats had apparently met up with 'Captain' Usopp and started a fire in a small cove, not far from the path they had used to go to the village that afternoon. The firebender angled herself down a bit and flew in to meet them, landing gracefully next to the fire as she did so. Her landing still managed to shock Usopp, who let out an almost shriek-like sound and practically bounced to his feet. "Where in the world did you come from?! And who are you anyway?"

"Taeyong!" Luffy called, "You're back."

Zoro, on the other hand, turned to Usopp. "You should recognize her - she was at the mansion earlier."

"Did you find out more about the pirates coming to attack the village?" Nami asked Taeyong. The firebender nodded in reply.

"They're currently about 10 kilometers from the shoreline," she said, gesturing towards the east. "There's a cluster of rocks they've been using for cover. From what I managed to overhear, they plan to attack at sunrise."

Usopp looked out at the direction Taeyong had gestured and was now musing to himself. "There is a rock formation out that way that would keep them hidden from the local fishermen, but - hey! Wait a second. Where's your boat? You certainly couldn't have swum that distance! Even if you did make it there and back, it would still take you more than a couple of hours!"

"I didn't swim. I flew," Taeyong stated, looking an incredulous Usopp in the eye.

"You flew? How?!"

"I'm a firebender, meaning I can, to some extent, control fire." Raising her hand to eye level, Taeyong conjured up a flame as a demonstration. "If I light flames for my hands and feet, I can create enough thrust and lift to-"

"She can breathe fire, too! Isn't that cool!" Luffy shouted, interrupting Taeyong's explanation.

"So it's some fire controlling devil fruit? Like the flame-flame fruit or something? If that's the case, it wasn't very smart to fly over open water like that."

Taeyong frowned. "It isn't a devil fruit. I was able to do this since I was born, though I didn't know it at the time."

At the group's confused looks, the firebender sighed and began her explanation, "Where I'm from, there are a lot of people who can bend the elements of fire, air, water and earth, and each group of benders live in a country known for its element. For example, the Air Nomads lived on a band of floating islands and were predominantly airbenders. The Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation are lands made up of earth and firebenders respectively. And the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are mostly waterbenders. There are plenty of people in all the nations that can't bend any elements, but those of us that can are limited to only one of the four. The only exception to the rule is the Avatar, who can bend all of the elements and is charged with keeping the peace between the four countries."

"So you can only bend one element?" Zoro asked.

"Yes."

"And your element is fire."

"Yes."

"Then how did you bend the ground back at the last island?"

"Oh, I still owe you an explanation for that, don't I?"

Zoro nodded, and Taeyong smiled before answering, "It's actually a fairly simple idea - I don't know why anyone hasn't thought of it before - but the idea has to do with the basic laws and philosophies of bending-"

"Wait!" Luffy cried. With sparkling eyes, he said, "If you can earthbend and firebend, does that mean you're the Avatar person?!"

"Shut up, Luffy!" Zoro shouted, whacking the captain hard over the head and earning a disgruntled 'ow' in return. "Let her explain herself."

When everyone turned back to Taeyong expectantly, she continued, "When someone masters bending an element, it means they can bend every aspect of that element, so even if the element isn't in its original form, the master should still be able to bend it. For example, an earthbending master and waterbending master can both bend mud because mud is a mixture of earth and water. And there are earthbending masters who are capable of bending metal because metal is composed of specific elements separated from the earth and then processed into their own material. So an earthbending master should be able to bend those specific elements in the earth as well as the earth itself."

"My firebending is no different. As a master, I'm able to bend certain aspects of a fire. Specifically, I'm able to make the fire hotter or cooler, brighter or darker, and so on because I am able to bend the heat and light housed in the fire. But the possibilities for firebending don't stop there. If I can bend heat, for example, inside a fire like an earthbender bends copper inside a boulder, I can also bend heat outside the fire just like the earthbender can bend a metal sheet of copper outside of the boulder."

"And if I can bend heat itself, outside of a fire, I can also bend the heat inside another object. I can even go so far as to manipulate the object using the heat inside it, just as a waterbender can manipulate mud by bending the water inside it."

"So you're like a mystery Avatar person," Luffy concluded, his face set in a concentrated frown.

"Did you even hear a word she said?" Nami asked, incredulous.

Zoro just kept his eyes trained on Taeyong, "So you earthbend by manipulating the heat inside the ground."

"Yes."

Usopp looked at the group in awe as they devolved into discussing dinner options and plans for the upcoming fight. Finally, he muttered to himself, "I think we may just stand a chance."


	10. Captain Kuro, Part 5

**Chapter 10**

"There," Usopp puffed, rolling the second barrel into place. As he stood up alongside the other pirates, he surveyed the path cutting through the cliffs. Standing at the top gave him a clear view of the ocean and the shore. "At daybreak, the pirates will be landing at this shore to begin their attack, but the only way into the village is up this slope. The rest of the shoreline is cliffs, so they have to come through here. If we can fight them while they're funneled into this narrow pass, their numbers won't mean anything."

"Sounds easy enough," Luffy shrugged.

Usopp sighed before elaborating, "Talking about it is, but victory will depend on our strength. What is it you guys can do, exactly?"

The different strawhats smiled in reply.

"I stretch," Luffy announced.

"I cut," declared Zoro.

"I burn," Taeyong stated.

"And I steal," Nami avowed.

"And I hide," whispered Usopp.

Immediately Nami and Luffy were on top of the sniper, shouting in sync, "Well this time you'd better fight!"

Usopp quickly ducked behind Zoro. "It was a joke! Just a joke, I swear!" he pleaded.

"So what are the barrels for?" Taeyong asked, gesturing to the two wooden barrels Usopp had spent the past half hour getting into place. The sniper didn't answer, but instead went to each barrel and uncorked the bottom, allowing a light yellow substance to drip down the pathway.

The firebender's eyes widened in realization. "Is that..."

"Yep," Usopp crowed. "I'm a genius. There's no way they'll be able to make it up this slope now. All this oil here should keep them occupied while we go to town on them."

Nami tested the now-slick path with one of her shoes. "Wow, so that's your plan, huh?"

"That's right! I'm going to defend my village no matter what it takes."

Nami hummed and pulled her shoe out, being careful not to step back into the oil. "Let's just hope none of us slip on it and end up down there with them because that would be like sliding right into a meat grinder."

Luffy chuckled. "Usopp, I've got to hand it to you, you're pretty good at fighting dirty."

"Of course I am!" Usopp scoffed, taking a dramatic pose. "There isn't anyone in the world who can beat me with a slingshot or best me at the art of fighting dirty!"

"Right," Luffy said, smiling.

Zoro, however, was looking to the horizon. The sky was turning a light blue, but there was still no ship in sight.

"Hey, guys," he said, calling the group's attention. "Where are they? It's past daybreak now."

Luffy pouted. "I thought we were going to fight. What's the deal?"

"Maybe they overslept?" Zoro suggested.

"I wonder," mused Taeyong. "What if they entered the island from the other side? If I remember correctly, it's where we entered."

"No. They're gonna show up, alright. Lots of 'em." Usopp affirmed, searching the waves for a pirate ship.

While Usopp searched the horizon, Taeyong searched the shoreline. It was possible - though unlikely - that the pirates could have landed elsewhere and walked to the pass, meaning the strawhats wouldn't notice them until they were practically upon the group. Breathing deeply, the firebender searched for any heat signatures along the shoreline but found nothing. So Taeyong started searching the surrounding area, stretching her ability as far as it could go. There was the usual amount of bodies in the forest and fields surrounding them, and if she strained a little more, Taeyong could feel the villagers up and moving around, which was strange for so early in the day. No one in the village should have been awake by now - unless the pirates were already there. Surprised, the firebender's head shot up. But before she could voice any concerns, Nami spoke out.

"Guys, maybe I'm hearing things, but it sounds like battle cries are coming from somewhere." The group stilled and watched as Nami walked along the pass, her hands cupped to her ears.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "I definitely hear them."

Usopp's face turned white as something occurred to him. "There's a...a shore just like this one to the north. They must have -"

"We're on the wrong shore?!" Luffy interrupted. "That's not good!"

"Well, this is where they had the meeting yesterday, and it's closer to where they hid their ship, so I just assumed." Before the others could say anything else, the sniper continued, "We'll have to head directly north from here. If you run you can make it in three minutes. The terrain there is exactly the same, so all we have to do is stop them at the slope!"

"Then that means they are coming from where we entered," concluded Taeyong.

That made Nami speak up. "Oh no! If those filthy pirates are on the slope we used, that means they've seen our boats. They'll take our treasure!"

"I'll be there in twenty seconds!" Luffy shouted as he took off towards the village.

Usopp gave one last look at the oil barrels before starting to run as well. "Aw, man! My brilliant oil strategy was for nothing!"

Taeyong jumped up after them, taking off into the skies as she made her way towards the village. From her vantage point above the island's main street, it was easy to see that the pirates hadn't made it into the town itself yet, making Taeyong breathe a sigh of relief. Still, she pushed on, following the main street to the pass Usopp had mentioned earlier. It looked like the rival pirate crew had yet to even make their way past the cliffs. The firebender pivoted back and found Usopp and Nami making their way towards the slope, but as she looked closer, Taeyong realized that Luffy and Zoro were nowhere to be seen. Frowning, she flew past the two pirates to find the captain and swordsman. As Taeyong passed the village again, she noticed a red spot dashing through a small forest to the west and dived after it.

Luffy kept dodging past the trees, trying to find the north cliff Usopp was talking about, but it seemed impossible. He was surrounded by a forest and his destination was nowhere in sight. Just as he reached a clearing, Taeyong landed in front of him, and the Strawhat captain smiled at her, relieved. "Ah, Taeyong! How far's the slope?! I've been running straight north for a while now, but I haven't found it!"

Deciding to ignore the captain's sense of direction, the firebender just took off again, stopping to hover over the treetops. "Just follow me, it's not too far from here, but we have to find Zoro first. He didn't leave with the others."

"Alright, but we have to get there quick! We can't let Nami and Usopp have all the fun!"

"I think it'll be closer to we have to save them," Taeyong muttered to herself. But she flew back towards the southern slope anyway, happy to notice that the captain was at least following along and not running back through the forest. They made it halfway when an irate Zoro suddenly ran in front of them, heading due east.

"Nami, I swear...if you're still alive when I get there, I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh, there you are!" Luffy called. "We were looking for you. Taeyong said she'll lead us to the north slope, so come on!" Reaching out with one of his arms, the captain grabbed Zoro's collar and pulled him back onto the path. "Let's go!"

The group made a u-turn and headed back through the village and over to the north side of the island. Along the way, Zoro left the path several times, turning either to the left or the right, and had to be dragged back on course. As they drew closer to the north cliff, however, the swordsman seemed to sense they were getting close and had to be redirected less and less often.

They reached the top of the slope just in time to see a stampede of cat-eared pirates rush past a tired Nami and injured Usopp. Taeyong landed in between Luffy and Zoro, sending an exploding ball of fire right into the middle of the stampede. In the following chaos, the captain and swordsman took the opportunity to push the pirates all the way back to the bottom of the slope. While the enemy pirates lay on the ground moaning, the three strawhats moved to stand beside Nami and Usopp.

Zoro was the first to speak. "Is that the best those pirates can dish out?"

"Yeah, I was hoping for more of a challenge," Luffy grumbled.

"It pains me to say this, but you two are hopeless." Taeyong exhaled. "There's no way you would have made it in time if I hadn't led us here."

Zoro ignored her comment and turned to Nami instead. "And you! After leaving me down there in the oil, you're lucky I'm not kicking your butt, too!"

Luffy, likewise, turned to Usopp and shouted, "Usopp, you big bonehead! You never told me which direction was north!"

Glaring at Zoro, Nami snapped, "Could you have _been_ slower? What took you so long?"

"What?! You're the one who pushed me down that oil slick so you could get out!"

"It was an accident," Nami shrugged. "I slipped, you fell. At least one of us made it out of there and both of us weren't at the bottom."

"It should've just been you!"

"'Run straight north' he says," Luffy grouched. "That's just great - how am I supposed to know which way north even is out here, huh?!"

Usopp scoffed. "Oh, shut up! You're the one who ran on ahead - all sure of yourself - to take on anyone."

"I just got so excited," Luffy explained. "I just had to start running, you know?"

"No! I don't know!"

While the group continued to bicker, Taeyong watched the cat-eared pirates with narrowed eyes. None of them were moving to get up, though a good portion had pushed themselves into a seated position. The hypnotist standing behind them was what concerned the firebender. Jango was making no move towards them, but he didn't seem injured at all. On the contrary, he seemed hesitant, almost frightened, as he took in the situation, and something told Taeyong he wasn't scared of their small group at the top of the hill. When he started muttering to himself, Taeyong frowned, and when he shuddered, Taeyong grew worried. Suddenly, he began shouting at his men.

"Black Cat Pirates! Don't just lie there! Don't tell me you're going to let them win - why they're just a bunch of idiots!"

Now Taeyong was mad.

"Who are you calling idiots?!" she shouted. "You're the ones that don't even fight with proper form!"

That made the hypnotist pause. "What?"

"What?" asked the strawhats, echoing his question.

Uncaring of their reactions, the firebender explained. "Way too many of you expose your head, neck, and chest when you go to attack, making it easier for an opponent to strike you before you can land a hit. You lean your weight too much to the left or right foot, which makes it easier for someone to push you off-balance. And all of you attacked us flat-footed, making you slower and easier to catch."

Quickly, Taeyong grabbed Usopp and pulled him forward so that he could be seen by everyone present. Holding up a stick, she began to smack the sniper into the proper position as she continued her instruction. "For example, keep your chin down to protect your neck," she instructed, forcing Usopp's chin down with a smarting flick of her stick, "and pull your arms in to protect your chest."

With two more smacks, Usopp's arms were forced up and next to his sides in a defensive position. "Have your feet slightly wider than your hips, like this" -

another smack to the back of Usopp's leg, pushing it forward - " and have your weight distributed evenly. Finally, shift your weight towards the balls of your feet, which will help increase your agility. Any questions?"

Jango paused for a moment before he offered a confounded, "Umm, not really."

"I have a question!" Usopp pipped up, still in the fighting stance he was forced into. "Why am I the test dummy? It hurts!"

Lifting an eyebrow, Nami admitted, "I have some, too. Where did that stick come from? And more importantly, why are you teaching our enemy the correct way to fight? Wouldn't that make it harder to beat them up?"

"I don't really think now is the time for this," Zoro stated, watching the Black Cat Pirates begin to stand back up.

Taeyong turned to Nami, answering, "Everyone should know how to defend themselves."

Luffy nodded, solemn. "She does have a point."

"What?" Nami asked, unsure.

Luffy pointed at Usopp, who still hadn't moved. "That is a good fighting stance."


	11. Captain Kuro, Part 6

**Chapter 11**

Once again, Jango raised his voice above the Strawhat pirates' clamor. "That's it! Men, the fact of the matter is we don't have the time to waste here any longer. If our enemy is strong, then we must become stronger than our enemy!"

Pulling out one of his hypnotist's rings, the pirate began to swing it back and forth. "Here, stare calmly into this ring. Now, I will count '1, 2, Jango' and after that, you will all begin to grow stronger. Your wounds will heal, and you will grow stronger still."

Luffy watched the group stare at the hypnotist and asked, "So what is he doing? It looks weird."

"It looks like hypnosis," Nami scoffed. "He's trying to convince them they're stronger than they are - like that'll work."

"Stronger," Jango urged. "Stronger!"

Frowning, Luffy hummed.

"Quick! Nobody look! Remember how he hypnotized the kids yesterday?" Zoro warned everyone. The group defending the slope looked away from the ring just as the hypnotist cried "1...2...Jango!"

For a moment nothing happened, but then - as if on cue - the entire Black Cat crew roared and threw their fists into the air. As the mass of pirates grabbed their weapons and prepared to charge up the slope again, one of the men ran over to the nearest cliff and grabbed the face, yelling incessantly.

Everyone watched as the cliff face broke completely off and the pirate chucked the large boulder halfway up the slope. Zoro looked on, impressed. "Huh, that one guy completely destroyed the cliff." Smirking, he continued, "Now that's what I call power!"

"I always thought hypnotizing someone was a bunch of crap," Nami stammered.

Taeyong shrugged. "From what I've heard, hypnosis can be powerful if you can harness it correctly."

"Oh, now you tell us!" Nami hissed.

"Guys," whispered Usopp. "That was just one of them. Imagine what the whole crew can do."

Seeing his crew was ready to charge, Jango pointed to the group of pirates blocking the path. "Now go!" he cried. "And strike down all that stand in your way!"

In response, the Black Cat Pirates gave a battle cry and started running up the slope. Noticing this, Zoro turned back to Nami and Usopp.

"Hey, you two. You might want to move. Luffy, Taeyong and I will take them from here."

Taeyong looked over to see Luffy's face devoid of all emotion. Realizing what had happened, she watched her captain's face morph into one of determination and said, "Actually, I think the captain can take them right now."

Glancing at Taeyong, the swordsman asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see-"

Before the firebender could finish her answer, Luffy let out a deafening roar and began to charge the army of pirates by himself. Zoro's jaw dropped as he caught on.

"Don't tell me you let the freak hypnotize you, too?!" he shouted after the straw-hatted captain.

"Well," Taeyong sighed. "There he goes."

When Luffy got close enough to the Black Cat crew, he shouted 'Gum-Gum Gatling' and began to punch opponents left, right and center, forcing the Black Cat Pirates back to the base of the slope.

Nami watched the captain let loose before ducking behind the cliff's edge with Usopp. "He really is a simple-minded idiot," she commented.

With one final growl, Luffy charged the pirates at the bottom of the slope, causing them to scramble away from him. But he took everyone by surprise when he ran right through the cat-eared crowd and continued past them.

"Where is he going?" Zoro wondered aloud.

Taeyong watched in equal astonishment. "The only thing left is their ship - that or open water."

It turned out the captain was aiming for the Black Cat's ship - specifically its figurehead - because when he arrived at the bow, he gripped the hull hard and pulled. For a moment nothing happened, but then the front of the ship to started to crack along the sides.

"What's he doing?!" cried one of the Black Cat Pirates.

Grunting, Luffy finished ripping the hull and figurehead away from the ship and turned to face the now sweating crew. As he took his first step, the Black Cat Pirates fell into chaos, shouting, crying, and running in all directions. But right as Luffy approached the nearest pirate, Jango, the hypnotist thought of an idea. Quickly, he pulled his ring out and shouted, "'1-2-Jango,' you will fall asleep! 1, 2, JANGO!"

And the Strawhats watched in disbelief as Luffy slowly relaxed and fell over, the figurehead landing on top of him and part of the crew.

When the dust settled, Nami looked out from where she and Usopp were hiding. "It looks like those guys are really down for the count now, don't you think?" she asked.

"Maybe," answered Usopp, "but Luffy's trapped underneath that cat figurehead, just look!"

Zoro chuckled at that. "Relax, he's fine. But you should really worry about your own injuries. By the look of it, you took a lot of hits before we got here."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable. It's not over yet," Taeyong reminded them. "Remember that there's still Clahador to take care of, and on top of that, the hypnotist is still standing. The real fight should be starting about now."

Zoro smiled, "2 on 2?"

Before the firebender could reply, a scuffling sound came from the ship and two clawed pirates jumped down to join Jango.

"Buchi, check this out. There's some bad stuff going down," called the skinnier one.

The much larger pirate, Buchi, took in the sight of his beaten, half-conscious crewmates and shouted, "What the hell happened?"

Jango smiled at the two, talking to himself. "I forgot we still have our trump card - Sham and Buchi, the Nyaban Brothers!"

The two straightened in a dramatic salute. "At your service!"

"Good," the hypnotist said. "Now listen, we need to get up this path but as you can clearly see it's been blocked. If you would be so kind as to remove these obstacles, it would be greatly appreciated."

The brothers looked up the slope to see Zoro and Taeyong standing side by side and immediately began sweating. Sham pointed a trembling finger at the pair and yelped, "No way! We couldn't do that! He looks way too strong, right Buchi?!"

"Oh, yeah," the larger brother cried, equally as terrified. "And that girl looks too scary. I don't wanna fight her! She might slice my arms off!"

"She's not even the one holding swords, you idiot!" Jango snapped. "Just get on with it already!"

"We don't wanna!" The two pirates cried, but they ran up the hill anyway, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Wait, they're actually crybabies?" Usopp questioned. "If they're the crew's powerhouses, shouldn't they be acting more like, well, powerhouses?"

Zoro huffed in annoyance. Tilting his head to the side, he called, "You come any closer and I'll cut you in half." When the two kept coming, Zoro placed a hand on his sword. "I'm not joking, I'll do it!"

Surprisingly, the larger of the brothers made it to Zoro first. Without breaking his stride, Buchi leaped towards Zoro's head, clawed mitts extended, only to be blocked by one of the swordsman's katanas. When Zoro managed to push the other pirate off him, Taeyong noticed the second brother had stopped running and was putting some distance between himself and the swordsman. Zoro noticed the same when Buchi leaped back to join his brother and said as much. "What? Don't want to come any closer?"

The brothers smiled, the smaller pulling out a pair of swords.

"Not likely!" Sham shouted, "It's too bad you fell for the brilliant performance we gave. Don't let that tiny bit of skill you have cause you to underestimate the Nyaban Brothers!"

"Wait a minute," Zoro muttered, his eyes narrowing.

Taeyong frowned. "Aren't those…"

Together Taeyong and Zoro looked down to the swordsman's belt to find his two remaining swords missing.

"Shit!" the swordsman swore, "Hey you! Give those back!"

Sham held the two swords higher in the air. "Oh, these? I didn't realize they were yours."

"I said give them back!" The swordsman growled.

"Why? You already have one sword. How greedy can you be?" The brother shared a glance with Buchi before waving the swords in his direction. "Say goodbye to the swords, Buchi."

The larger brother chuckled. "Goodbye."

Laughing, Sham tossed the swords behind him and sighed as they tumbled down the slope with a distinct clatter. "There. Now I feel lighter."

"Bastards!" Zoro yelled as he sprung forward, his sword aimed at Sham. The cat-eared pirate happily took him on, parrying his blade with clawed gloves.

While the two battled to gain ground, Taeyong snuck around the edge of the slope, skirting the fight. With just one sword in hand, Zoro could only fight so well, which the cat-eared pirate was quick to take advantage of. But she knew if he could get back the two swords Sham had tossed, it would be a different story. Taeyong aimed to retrieve the lost swords but was stopped short when Buchi stepped in front of her.

"Nice try," he taunted, "but you'll have to do better than that."

Frowning, Taeyong shrugged, "Alright."

The firebender ignored the pirate's confused look. Instead, she jumped up into the air and kicked up and over, thrusting an arc of fire from her foot directly at the Cat Pirate's torso. Immediately the pirate began to panic, flailing his arms and stumbling away from the firebender.

"I'm on fire! I don't like fire, get it off!" Buchi screamed before he stopped and looked down. His clothes didn't seem burnt or even warm. "It's gone?"

"Buchi! Get over here!"

"Huh?" Looking around, the cat pirate noticed his brother pinning Zoro to the ground. "Oh, right."

Quickly he lumbered over to go help Sham, and Taeyong stepped out from behind him, turning back towards the swords. She covered about half the remaining distance when a new adversary cut her off.

"My apologies, but you won't be getting those swords," Jango stated, a hand resting on his hat. "I won't be so easy to distract."

Without replying, Taeyong threw a column of fire straight towards the hypnotist's face, but the pirate twisted back and let the flames brush past him. He didn't stop moving, though, and immediately sent one of his disks flying at Taeyong's outstretched arm. The firebender managed to avoid the blade and countered with a flaming roundhouse kick, which Jango backed up to dodge before attacking with renewed gusto. The two traded blows, neither one gaining the decisive advantage, and so they continued to dance. Taeyong would jab, and Jango would sidestep. Jango would slice, and Taeyong would block. They each swung their weapons at the other's head, Taeyong with a dagger made from fire and Jango with his chakram, and both leaned their head back to avoid the blow when an angry shout cut through the air.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Everyone stopped fighting at the sudden question and stood straight, looking up at the man on top of the slope. Clahador stood proudly by the cliffs, glaring down at the mayhem and grasping a bag in his hand. When no one moved for several seconds, he spoke, anger littering his every word. "To think that these brats have held you back. How the Black Cat Pirates have fallen. Right, Jango?!"

Beside Taeyong, Jango became a quivering mess. "Y-You said letting that kid go wouldn't cause any problems, but h-he has strong friends!"

"How we've fallen?!"

The Nyaban Brothers growled at the butler from where they had shouted. They both began stalking forward as Buchi hissed. "You're calling us feeble? Watch what you say, Captain Kuro!"

"Yeah, you were strong before, but that was three years ago!" Sham said accusingly. "It's not like we partied while you lived the easy life in this village! We've attacked lotsa towns and sunk lotsa pirates!"

"So, don't you underestimate us! There's no way you can beat the Nyaban Brothers of today!" Buchi finished, and without giving another thought to Zoro, the two suddenly sprinted up the slope and leaped towards their former captain.

Taeyong decided to ignore the goings-on and instead opted to use the Brothers' attack to her advantage. When Buchi and Sham turned on Clahador, Jango had forgotten Taeyong's presence entirely - too busy trying to stop the brothers - and the firebender used the opportunity to sneak behind him. Quickly, she made her way to Zoro's two swords and picked them up, turning to find Sham and Buchi standing alone at the top of the slope. For a moment there was no sign of the butler, but then he appeared behind the two black cat pirates, as if from thin air. Like the Nyaban Brothers, Clahador's hands were gloved. But instead of having elongated claws, the captain's gloves had long, thin katanas extending from each finger.

"I suppose I can be generous. I'll give you lot five minutes." Clahador stepped back away from the two black cat pirates. He then clinked the katana-ed fingers together threateningly. "If you can't take care of things here in five minutes, then I'll kill every last one of you with my own two hands."

That pushed Jango and the others into action. "Ah, right...five minutes should be enough! I-if we just beat these last two pirates, we can get past this hill!"

Sham and Buchi then zeroed in on Zoro and began racing down the slope towards him.

"We had the upper hand against him just now! We'll beat him for sure this time. Right, Buchi?!" Sham called.

"Right!"

Walking past the paralyzed hypnotist, Taeyong tossed Zoro his missing swords, shouting for the swordsman to catch. She then turned her attention back to Jango. Taeyong figured Zoro would be fine now that he could reach all 3 blades - she just hoped he would have the opportunity to catch them before they hit the ground. But as she met Jango's widening eyes, the firebender heard Zoro draw the remaining swords and smiled. The swordsman could take things from here.

She watched as Jango's jaw dropped and repeated his earlier words back to him, "I thought you wouldn't be so easily distracted."

Jango gritted his teeth, glaring at the firebender, but Taeyong was already looking beyond him. Letting out a steady breath, Taeyong stepped back and down, lowering herself into a wide stance. She reached out in front of herself and curled her hands into fists. Then, with a forceful exhale Taeyong suddenly pulled her fists back in, tucking her elbows in the process. It wasn't until the earth rumbled behind him that Jango glanced back to see, and when he realized the fallen piece of cliff was heading straight for him, the pirate leapt to the side, rolling out of the boulder's way.

Taeyong, who was next in line to be steamrolled, refused to move, however. In fact, she simply grounded herself further and remained completely still. She only moved when the boulder came within arm's reach. As fast as she had pulled her fists in before, the firebender now pushed her palms out, letting them land flat on the rock's surface and stopping it in its tracks.

"That was easier than expected," she mumbled.

Clahador frowned at the antics down below. "Four minutes."

Reaching up, Taeyong formed a long blade of fire and proceeded to cut the boulder into smaller, more manageable blocks. Then, with some trial and error, she heaved the top block off the stack and held it at eye level, her hands shaking with the effort needed to keep it aloft.

The firebender set her sights on Jango, who had landed between an unconscious Sham and barely conscious Buchi. The two Black Cat pirates were talking about something but Taeyong was concentrating too much on keeping her block airborne to listen. They didn't seem to notice her either - that was, until a small boulder flew past them and hit the unconscious Sham with a thud.

The two looked over to where the young firebender was already lifting the next rock off the pile. The rock wobbled a bit but then flew, missing the duo completely again. It hit the cliff's top edge instead and shattered on impact. They quickly went back to finish what there were doing, in case another rock came flying their way and actually landed.

Taeyong, on the other hand, was getting frustrated. Moving a large boulder had been easier than expected, but it seemed that the smaller the rock, the more difficult it was to control. Still she refused to give up.

She bent up another rock and fired, missing the two cat pirates again. She lifted and shot and missed. Lifted, shot and missed. Lifted, shot and missed. The rocks flew either too high, crash-landing into the cliffs, or too short, smacking into the ground after only a few feet. The next two missed her targets completely but hit some pirates at the base of the slope instead.

Hiding behind the cliff's edge, Nami and Usopp watched as the firebender tried and failed to lob the pile of small boulders at Jango and Buchi.

"Her aim is terrible," Usopp observed. "What happened? She seemed so strong before."

"She is strong," Nami snapped. "The question is what the hell is she doing fooling around like that?"

"Three minutes," Clahador announced.

"Why doesn't she just throw fire at them like before?" Usopp asked.

Nami watched on as Taeyong failed again – this time nearly hitting Zoro in the process. The swordsman had to duck to avoid the boulder flying at his face.

"That's it." Nami stood from her hiding place, ignoring Usopp's protests, and shouted, "Taeyong! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Idiot! Get down and stop drawing attention to yourself," Zoro growled.

The firebender looked up after firing her last boulder, and slightly out of breath, answered, "Practicing."

Usopp leapt up at that, "P-practicing? Now?!"

"I told you two to stay out of this!" Zoro shouted.

"Practice is vital to success," Taeyong sagely replied, "and there is no time like the present."

"But because you were fooling around, Buchi's getting back up again!" Nami shouted, pointing down at the large pirate.

Zoro saw him moving as well and ground his teeth, "Damn. So he's not down after all – this may take the whole five minutes, then."

"Two minutes."

"Two minutes already?" Taeyong mused. With Clahador now at the slope, it was the butler, Jango and Buchi against herself and Zoro. The odds were doable, but the firebender had a feeling Luffy wouldn't be happy if he woke up and the fight was over. Furthermore, he was the captain of their crew, and his job was to fight the captain of the opposing crew, Clahador in this case. She looked to where Luffy still slept under the Black Cats' figurehead. Now was as good a time as any to wake him up.

Dodging the chakram Jango threw at her, Taeyong drew her foot up before slamming it back into the ground. The earth beneath Luffy rumbled a bit before it shot up, throwing the Strawhat captain and the figurehead into the air. The force was enough to wake Luffy, and he yelled in response. "Ow, what the hell?!"

Once he had landed, the firebender spoke, "My apologies, Captain. Clahador has arrived, and I thought you would want to be awake for this."

Luffy nodded, his eyes focused on the butler. "Right, thanks."

"One minute."

Jango's voice called out from Taeyong's left. "Go, Buchi! You take care of the haramaki kid. I'll take the other two. When you're done, come back and help finish them off!"

"Right, Captain Jango!" Buchi cried as he lunged once more for Zoro.

While the two engaged the firebender turned to face Jango. Reaching back, she bent his thrown chakram into a rounded baton that she then cut in half. Holding a thinner half-baton in each hand, she raised them into a defensive stance.

"You won't be able to take on both of us, I think." She narrowed her eyes at the now sweating hypnotist. "You and I were almost fighting equally before, but now unless you have a hidden ability, you are outmatched."

Jango growled in response. "Damn you."

With a decisive shout, he struck, bringing a chakram down to Taeyong's face. She easily brushed it aside using one half-baton and, in the same move, brought the other crashing into his unguarded shoulder. The hypnotist was knocked back a couple feet, and Taeyong advanced, not giving him the time to recover. Again, she swept the two half-batons, one after the other, at Jango, and this time they both made contact. The first hit his wrist, forcing him to drop the chakram he was holding, and as the first finished circling down the other swept in and knocked Jango's other wrist. With both arms out of the way, the hypnotist's chest was left wide open and the firebender took full advantage. Quickly, she leapt up and kicked him hard in the sternum, crushing him between her foot and the cliff. When Taeyong jumped back, the other pirate sunk to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"You're not a swordsman," a voice cut in. "Your technique is horrible."

Taeyong looked back to find Zoro watching her, Buchi lying cut at the swordsman's feet. She held the half-batons in a relaxed grip at her sides. "I said I wasn't before."

The swordsman frowned. "Then why were you using those like dual swords?"

"It's how I was taught, though I don't practice with them as often as I should."

"You bastard!" Luffy's fist suddenly shot between the two pirates, stopping their conversation short, and struck Clahador full in the face. The captain was thrown onto his back, revealing a bloodied Usopp and shaking Kaya.

"Kaya?" Zoro voiced, puzzled.

"U-usopp, are you alright?" the girl asked.

"Kaya," the sniper coughed. "You need to leave now, before he kills you. You're the one they're here to hurt!"

Her response was drowned out as a group of shouting kids surrounded the downed Black Cat Captain, attacking him with gusto. Carrot, Onion and Apple brought their sticks down onto the pirate randomly, each getting a succession of blows in.

"Take that!" Carrot shouted.

"And that!" agreed Apple.

Onion brought his stick down with a decided thwack. "And this!"

After the onslaught had finished, the three stood panting from the effort. Onion looked at the other two. "Do you think we got him?"

From the ground, Clahador growled. "Annoying brats."

"AHHH!" The trio jumped back in unison and raised their sticks, ready to start another round, when Usopp's voice stopped them.

"Stop, Usopp Pirates!"

"But we can't stop here – he's gonna hurt Kaya!" Carrot objected.

"And he hurt you!" Apple added.

"So we can't stop here and let him get away with it!" Onion concluded.

Thinking quickly, Usopp implored, "That's why I said to wait! Listen to me very carefully, because I need to give the most important mission to you guys. Get Kaya away from here! Don't say you can't! Because protecting what we cherish most as men is the reason why we formed this crew!"

Carrot's stick dropped a bit. "Captain?"

Usopp continued, not stopping to breath. "She's the one they're after, so we need to protect her however we can! Do you understand, Usopp Pirates? This is an order from your captain!"

The three kids looked to each other for a moment before shouting, "Aye aye, Captain!"

Apple took Kaya's hand, "Come on, Miss Kaya, hurry! Come this way!"

"We can protect you in the forest," Carrot stated. "We know that place like the back of our hands!"

While the group retreated to the trees, Zoro huffed. "What an elegant speech. It's the same as telling them to run away."

Taeyong nodded. "Yes, but sometimes that is what's needed."

The swordsman hummed.

Clahador slowly stood back up, his eyes on Luffy. "You. You possess the power of the Devil's Fruit, don't you?"

"Yeah," Luffy confirmed, "the rubber fruit. I'm a rubber man!"

"So your arm stretching so far wasn't just my imagination then," the butler mused. Suddenly, he turned to the remaining pirates at the base of the slope. "You lot! I will take care of these kids. You take care of the smaller children and Miss Kaya. She will write the will as planned and leave everything to me. Then kill her, and the three ants with her! They're an eyesore."

The Black Cat Pirates that were still conscious scrambled to run up the slope. "Understood!"

As they passed by her and Zoro, Taeyong lunged forward to stop them. But before she could get close, Clahador appeared in front her, blocking the path. The firebender barely had time to skid to a halt and raise her half-batons before the butler was striking. In one blow, her batons were cut to pieces and she was thrown back into Zoro, sending them both into the cliffside.

"Taeyong!"


End file.
